My Own Light Poem by David Self

Keep going until something inside snaps,
Push through the pain until your body calls your bluff.
Life throws you down again and again,
And you wonder how many hits are "enough."

It feels endless — no light, no guide,
Just you, moving through darkness that doesn't budge.
You look around for help and see no one,
So you decide: stand your ground, or sink.

There are monsters inside all of us,
Quiet ones, loud ones, the ones you pretend aren't there.
And I get it —
I get why people say they're done fighting.
Some days I can feel that line brushing my feet.

Yet morning comes anyway,
Dragging you into the same damn day
Where you stare yourself down and whisper,
Just keep going. Don't stop now.
Maybe it'll matter. Maybe it won't.
But moving at least means you're not swallowed whole.

I know my life is built from my own choices—
Good ones, bad ones, the ones that haunt me.
Standing alone is its own kind of sting,
Watching everyone else guard their little kingdoms.

But still, I fight.
Not for glory. Not for applause.
Just to keep a spark alive,
Small and stubborn—
My own light, even if it flickers.