A Shallow Sea of Dark

If you don't want to drown, you must learn to swim.

Where once dark and infinite heavens
Echoed blackness in my soul,
Reflected off the moondark waters
Bleeding ink as self it stole.

Once paranoia bound my strength,
Paralyzed, I could not swim
And sank into the murky depths-
The sea of dark compelled me in.

Yet gentle eyes bade me listen,
Tender steel helped thwart the foe,
His faith in me repelled the darkness
Shedding shackles, letting go.

Now the page once more is ready,
Selfdoubt, uncertainty erased,
Morning suns burn through the gloaming
All because of fears I faced.

No more to sink below the waters
Now I write and leave a mark--
I travel leaving only ripples
Upon a shallow sea of dark