“The silver lining is/you won’t be catching planes/to drag yourself away”
The silver lining is
that after all the turmoil
the sea will hurl you at the shore
unarmed, unsullied,
and you won’t fear drowning anymore
The silver lining is
that existence cast you outside
of yourself
yet you claimed that space back
as yours
and sealed the void
that sucked you in like a black hole
with poems and songs and dances
The silver lining is
you won’t be catching planes
to drag yourself away
from one pointless location to another,
and your center of gravity
will pull you to the place
you designated home
The silver lining is
that some things relentlessly work in binaries
The water will quench the thirst
the fire so indignantly ignited
I hope you won’t tremble in the dark
when that fire goes out
Remember.
On water you can float,
and the rest
is a story told away from the light
The silver lining is
you won’t always be
so desperately looking for one,
and conviction
will sound like a word
of mere insignificance
The silver lining is
that it’s not called ‘golden’ for a reason.
Angelos Apallas recently completed a Master of Arts in literature at Utrecht University and was a past intern at Merion West.
