Forgetful

It's easy to forget
How warm the light can be
When you've stumbled in darkness

It's easy to forget
The comfort
That comes from a warm hand on your cheek
A soft concern in someone's eye
A gentle whisper in your ear

It's easy to forget
The safety
The protection
Of having another press their forehead to yours
Their soft breathing calming your own

It's easy to forget
When cold, damp walls are pressing in
And a noise so loud it's deafening
Echoes on the walls inside your head
But it's source can never be located

It's easy to forget
That it's on the darkest nights
When the universe is most easily seen

It's easy to forget
That while we may be trapped in the prison of our minds
And we clutch our heads and scream in agony
There is a gentle hand on our shoulder
Trying to rock us out of our stupor

Its easy to forget
That there is a difference between lonely and alone
And often times the two meld together
Like twisted bars of metal
Waiting to be forged out of the mangled mess it has become
And that both are a source of reason trying to tell us something

It's easy to forget
That while it may be easier to not feel
The numbness is more damaging than whatever we're trying to run from

It's easy to forget
So we need small reminders
That do not come in the form of rehearsed platitudes
So that there can be a day
When we can say we're okay
And mean it

It's easy to forget
But I don't want to
Because anything is better than the prison I've made for myself in my own mind