The Alchemist

A leadened heart devoid of trust

until an alchemist came along,

turning it into gold-

Or so it seemed...

Trust, broken trust.

It was now a locket that held secrets,

that had a key protected by fear

Hidden in the darkness of silence-

Or so it seemed...

Secrets, imprisoned secrets.

There was one escape, only through tears,

tarnishing the heart all the more

Somehow encrusting it forever-

Or so it seemed...

Tears, overflowing tears.

This river led to the sea of silence,

and stayed there.

Eerily still, no undercurrents perceived-

Or so it seemed...

Silence, deafening silence.

Numbing, unwavering trepidation,

kept all those unwanted secrets safe

Weakening the heart, deeming it hopeless-

Or so it seemed...

Trepidation, paralyzing trepidation.

But fear also harnesses strength

and the alchemist within was the key

Breaking the silence, unlocking the secrets-

And so it was...

Strength, energizing strength.

This eventually led to tenacity,

tears hardening into diamonds of courage

Allowing the waves of silence to finally crash

And so it was...

Tenacity, freeing tenacity.

The heart now had a soaring spirit,

with a fire emboldening other hearts

Infinitely turning lead into gold-

And so it is...

Spirit, emblazoning spirit.

This thus far is the story of one heart's triumph,

written for the world to know

Giving hope and gilding hearts-

And so it will be...

Triumph, crowning triumph!

NIKKO RAE S. PALMARIO © 2008

Authors Note: 

 Inspiration for this poem actually came from the suggested topics given in the Contest Rules. "Overcoming obstacles" just seemed like such a powerful theme that it made me think of people who were in abusive relationships--since obstacles such as these are so hard to overcome, and therefore are such triumphs.