Written piece
Make Dark Shadows Glow in the Dark
Ireen Siro Taloni
Solomon Islands
About this piece
There has been an increase on the amount of mostly young people who have taken their own lives. This submission acknowledges the importance of being present, being understanding, and showing support to people who are fighting silent battles from within.
In a dark, cold, weary night
Under the dim light of the stars and the moon, where the only noise present is the
cool rustling of dead leaves, please kill the silence
Fight to keep
You saw them
You sit with them
You laughed with them
Yes, you did!
And maybe they laughed a little too loud
or said, “I’m fine,” too quickly
so, it is blur
easy not to see through it all.
But what if “I’m fine”
was just a line they used to hide their deep wounds?
And what if their laughter
was their only light of hope against a colder world?
Would you care?
What if their smile was only an armor, they wear to protect themselves from the darkness that is within?
Would you look twice?
Break their silence
Never turn a blind eye
You might think it arrives loud
roaring like a hungry lion
You might expect thunder
with a flash to match.
Hell No!
It is quieter than whispers.
Quieter than dark caves
So easy to miss
No sound
No warning
Only a cut that goes deeper than noise
It is deeper within
the loud screams within
the scars within.
Please see through their fake smiles
We are taught to see physical pain
but not always how to read
the invisible kind.
So, listen
when you can
while you can.
Do not rush past
what does not shout.
Notice the small changes
The missed messages
The absences
that grow slowly.
Check in without needing a reason.
A simple, short message:
“I am here.”
A warm hug that says
nothing and everything.
Be there in time.
That is where it begins.
Not fixing
just staying.
For it is impossible to fix what you cannot see.
But then again, if you look deeper, listen attentively, you will get it right on time.
Survival is sometimes held by something thin and almost unseen.
And presence can keep it
from breaking.
Awareness does not need
to be loud.
It only needs
to arrive in time.
And in that quiet, weary night within
be a flicker
that does not look away.
Even if all you can offer
is breath,
even if all you can say is:
“I am here” and “you matter”
Do it
to keep them sane.
Keep fighting to keep, to be able to see through, but most of all, to stop them from leaving.