The Sun Will Rise Again

photo by Niki Lazaro

The sun will rise again

by fourth year Aubrey Ford

The 

          water 

     pulls

you 

    deep

             deep

   deep

       down.

All is lost. There is no sunlight, no air, and no room to breathe. No one is coming to save you. No one chases you while you descend.

As you sink deep into the dark, deeper into yourself, deepest into hopelessness, what do you choose?

We can sink forever. The bottom of the ocean calls for you, welcomes you, tells you promises of a new home. You can despair endlessly. No one will come for you. 

There is no shame in sinking into despair. After being betrayed, the never-ending depths bring a sense of comfort that hopes precariously balanced on the shattered glass of the last hopes cannot. I do not blame you for choosing this, for returning here after all the pain you have endured. 

I may not wish to hide forever. I sometimes consider swimming to the surface. The darkness will always be there, but so will the light. The gloom always breaks. It is as promised as the waves returning to the shore. The sun peeks through the clouds, no matter how thick and strong they may be. Her light is always waiting on the other side.

Whatever festers in the darkness must always face the light. The sun always rises again. And the ocean has a funny way of returning lost things to shore. The sun does not despair because it must rise again the next day. The ocean does not dry up because it has to keep creating waves. The stars, moon, oceans, and sun do not give up because there is no world where the stars do not twinkle, the moon does not shine, the oceans do not dance, and the sun does not rise. 

You have unimaginable oceans and eternal galaxies residing inside of you. The desire to create and connect is woven into your being. Do not give up. Sink if you wish, but the sun will always be waiting to welcome you at the surface, and the ocean will cherish you at every depth.