May the light begin to grow

These stones we bear on burdened backs

and hold on to with hands clutched tight 

we say our sorrow drains our life 

yet we grip them with all our might. 

This rock of mine, my grief and pain, 

once shaped of guilt and shame

gently released from me as time sidled by, 

a weight I no longer claim

for even as it carved shadows into my being, 

a light began to grow.