The Judge in the Dark

I turned off the lights,

hoping the darkness would bring me peace.

But the silence was not empty;

it was crowded with a voice

that I had been trying to outrun all day.

It doesn't scream, it doesn't shout.

It just whispers the truths

I am too afraid to say out loud.

I am a man of character in the daylight,

wearing my status like a polished shield.

I have the degrees, I have the names,

but this voice inside doesn't care for my titles.

It asks me about the "Part of me"

that I sold for a quick win,

and the grit I lost

when I chose the easy lie over the hard truth.

I squeezed my eyes,

tightly pushing my palms together.

I wanted to argue, to give an excuse,

to tell my conscience that the world is cruel.

But the voice is loyal only to the soul.

It knows that "New Life"

cannot be built on a foundation of shadows.

I sat there in the cold quiet,

listening to the heartbeat of my mistakes.

I realized that success is not

the applause of the crowd.

It is being able to look at yourself

in the mirror at 3 AM

and not wanting to turn away.

Stay firm in your art.

Stay loyal to your inner light.

The universe can forgive your failures,

but you must first forgive yourself.