Poem - When the Light Fades

When the Light Fades
Marlon Salem Gruezo-Bondroff
  Philippines-USA


I’ve walked the nights when shadows cling, 
a weight so thick I barely breathe— 
each step a war, each breath a sting, 
and hope feels like a ghost that leaves. 
Yet something whispers, soft but true, 
"Hold on—the dawn will break for you."

The winds may howl, the walls may shake, 
the road ahead a storm of doubt. 
What if my strength is all a fake? 
What if my fire is burning out? 
But deep within, through fear and ache, 
a voice says, "Trust—you won’t break."

I’ve knelt in rooms where silence screams, 
pressed hands to ribs to feel the beat— 
a heart still fighting, though it bleeds, 
refusing to admit defeat. 
The world may say, "You’ll never rise,"
but faith walks on with clearer eyes. 

Oh, skeptic mind, be still and hear— 
the quiet hum beneath the noise, 
the unseen hand that dries each tear, 
the love that mends what pain destroys. 
Not every shield is steel or stone; 
some battles call for trust alone. 

When the dark feels like the end, 
when every light seems torn away, 
remember: broken things can mend, 
and storms don’t choose who gets to stay. 
Just take the step you think you can’t— 
the road begins where faith resides. 

All rights reserved.


*Collected from the poet by Md Ejaj Ahamed*