Sunrise and Shadow

There is sunrise and shadow.

In front of her is the glowing sunrise,

a promise of hope and exhilarating uncertainty.

Behind her is the inky shadow,

her experiences unfalteringly trailing her every move.

She is walking toward the sunrise,

but it is as if her mental conflict has split her in half.

She is now two versions of herself;

one is dressed in yellow, and one is dressed in gray.

The girl in yellow is gliding towards the sunrise.

Her eyes well up with tears at the prospect of the future,

its many rewards and opportunities to start anew.

She wears a smile on her face as a blockade

preventing her past from influencing her potential.

Acknowledging her past would be her downfall.

The girl in gray slightly trails behind the girl in yellow.

As the darkness advances, so does she.

She is terrified of the sunrise.

The sunrise eliminates the darkness in which she dwells.

She is afraid of the unknown;

there is no guarantee that a storm will not follow the sunrise.

She refuses to separate herself from what she is comfortable with,

what she has come to terms with,

and what she has yet to come to terms with.

The girl in gray hides in her shadow to avoid the sunrise;

the girl in yellow hides her shadow to avoid the storm.

Eventually, the sun will rise.

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NOTE: This original poem was featured as the closing poem of Volume IV Issue I of Perspectives, my high school's literary magazine.