The One Who Got Away

I sang a haunted song 

The melody of a splintered heart

Inflicted with self-hatred 

Swaddled in hopelessness

Choking back the ever-present panic

I surrendered to the dark 

Yet some distant light had the nerve 

To beckon  beyond this hell

A steady calm voice responding 

I am healing 

I am love 

I am hope 

I am peace 

Will you trust Me

I sing a new song now 

I'm not the same person

Who wished to die 

But lives on with hope and purpose 

My joy and toothy smile

No longer excuses hiding my pain 

And when anxiety rebounds 

There's a safe place for it 

To process, simmer, and dissipate

I can’t give credit to anything else

For the freedom I discovered 

If you wanted a sign  

Of an available, loving God 

Here I am as evidence. 

~M.M. Bylo