The Dungeon of My Heart

Deep within the dungeon of my heart,

Where even I am afraid to go,

I see a light.



Lost in the dark though I am,

This light guides me,

Beckoning me to move ever forward,

So I follow the light,

Seemingly out of reach.

Through the walls of the dungeon,

Of my own creation.



The walls become discernible,

With pictures of my past.

I linger on a picture,

A snapshot in time,

It is of you, smiling,

In the afternoon light through the trees,

With me, laughing,

With a joy and heartiness I have forgotten.



My mouth open wide,

Joyous in my laughter,

My eyes tightly closed,

So that the crow’s feet of age,

Are once again the laugh lines of my youth.



I remember now,

The light gives me hope,

The Darkness seems to lift.



The light beckons me forward,

So I turn away from this choice memory and follow the light,

Onward through the halls of my sadness and fear,

The walls become more solid,

Clean.



Though through this corridor I must travel,

I no longer fear,

For I can see what the light is,

That leads me on,

It is you.




I look upon your face

and see the lines,

Created through consternation and joy and I wonder,

How much of that is because of me?



I sit here,

Within the silence of my dreams,

And wonder,

What have I done?



Once we laughed, once we smiled,

I have seen the picture,

I hold its memory true.



Yet now there seems a distance between us,

Greater than an ocean,

Even though next to me you sit.



You turn your face to me and smile,

I see the love upon your face,

In your eyes,

And the dungeon door slams shut,

The crossbar falling into place,

Locked forever.



I smile back at you and know,

My choice long ago,

Was right and true,



My Savior,

My friend,

My love,



Has always been,

And always will be

You.


Eric Hodgson
June 18th, 2011