The Rising Phoenix

 

On that day, the world turned grey —

Ashes drifted like rain from a broken sky.
The air was heavy with endings,
And all I could taste was sorrow.

Yet somewhere in that silent dread,
A spark trembled…
A rumble whispered…
A breath of life stirred the dust.
The fallen was not at his end.

The wind of sand and time
Wrapped around the ember of my soul
And whispered, “Rise again.”

From the smoke, a man emerged —
Quieter, wiser,
No longer fighting to be understood,
But finally understanding.

The storm that tried to burn me
Refined me instead.
The hurt fell away,
The guilt dissolved,
The noise of need went still.

Now I rise —
Not in fury,
But in peace.
My scars shimmer like medals,
My calm is my crown.

I laugh again.
I sing to the songs that rise
In the bright Guyanese sun.
I feel the warmth that friendship stirs,
And I know — life is beautiful again.

So despair if you must,
Cry out your pain to the wind,
But never forget the light ahead.

For you, like Guyana’s gold,
Are worth far more
When the fire has burned the dross away.