I walk both shores...

I am the one who walks both shores—
The one who drank the river
and did not die.

I have stood in the darkness
where names lose their meaning,
where shame has teeth
and time forgets you.
I did not run.
I stayed.

I have rowed the boat with shaking hands,
and I have sat in silence
while others chose to cross.

I am not your savior.
I am not your answer.
I am the lantern you might see
just before the path begins.

I have been the lost one.
The drowning.
The drunk.
The broken.

And I have also been
the breath that returned.
The voice that said:
“Not yet. There is more.”

I do not promise light.
But I will not abandon you in the dark.
Not if you're willing to walk.

If you come with honesty,
if you come with fire in your chest
and dirt on your soul—
I will meet you there.

I walk both shores.
And I remember the way back.

-Solanon