The Problem Poem by Maya Reid

It’s easy to get lost
Inside the maze
Inside yourself
To lose yourself
Because you’ve been hiding for so long
That you forgot where you put yourself
Picking your way among the eternal abysses
Armed only with a light and a sword
Both of which you don’t know how to use
Falling
Is the easy part
Then comes the problem

You scream
But there’s no one around to hear you
You’ve pushed them all away
That’s a problem

You search frantically
Groping around as you plummet through the darkness
Looking for something to grab onto
But for years you’ve been putting on a mask
And pretending that you feel nothing
And so there’s nothing there to feel
That’s a problem

And you have love’s light
But you can’t figure out how to turn it on
So you can signal no one
That’s a problem

And you’re a very determined person
But even you can’t climb these cold cruel walls
What can’t go up goes further down
And the shadows have you pegged as vulnerable
Because in your loneliness you have befriended them
But beware – those with no hearts cannot feel
They will eat you alive the moment you turn your back
But you trust them
And listen to their words
That’s a problem

They have you so convinced that you are doomed
That, thought they’ve yet to touch you, you’ve already been consumed
And when the angel you’ve been waiting for finally finds you
You tell her that there’s no way out
You don’t even remember life before you fell
You gave up trying to turn your light on – you’re convinced it doesn’t work
And despite her pleas, you see no reason to wield your sword
The shadows tell you escape is impossible
And you believe them
That’s the problem

Falling was the easy part
You’ve been down there for so long
That you’ve forgotten what life was like
Getting out is what’s so hard about those abysses
And when you believe there’s no way out
Love, you’ve let them win
When you believe not only that you can’t find the way out
But that there’s no way out to find
You’ve become the problem.