Breakthrough and Silence

by Penelope Guzzo

BREAKTHROUGH

The light shines

through the darkness inside of me.

It was once swallowed

by the shadows that controlled me.

Standing there,

the heat of the light broke through

those once murky depths of my being.

He gave me the Words

that broke through the wake.

The slightest touch

of His hand pulled me out

of the deep trench I was in.

The light poured out of me,

like a waterfall.

I wanted more of the rapids

that had swept me away—

sluicing the corruption

out into the light of Him.

The Truth—

lighting up in the eyes of the Lord.

The Truth—

cascading my mind.

The Truth—

flooding my heart.

The Truth—

breaking through.

SILENCE

Shadows. Friends.

Peers. Panic.

Breathe in…

The sound of them.

Tearing me apart.

Piece by piece.

Word by word.

Screaming. Yelling.

Crying…

Not them…

Me…

Breathe in, breathe out, focus.

My hands are clammy—

the hollering stops.

I look up—

the blurring of my tears.

Eyes looking on me.

My ears still blaring

in the silence of the space.

Expecting...

But what?

I am still.

The silence pierces through the expectation

they have placed at my feet.

I want to run.

Where?

Anywhere but here.

To the ends of the Earth.

Past the void of nothing

into the Father’s hands.

No worries.

No fears.

No expectations.

Just me at His feet,

not able to feel the pain

—only peace.

But for now,

I’m just standing here.

Like a leaf in the fall,

holding onto to the branch

that birthed me.

Penelope Guzzo is a creative writing student at a Tampa private Christian school. She has earned awards for costume design in technical theater. Her love for literature started in third grade when her teacher challenged her to write her own book. Since then, she has gone on an expedition to uncover her creative desires in order to communicate her thoughts—by saying nothing yet writing so loud that the world would hear. In her free time, she loves to have fun with her friends or settle down with a good book.