Illuminated

ART DIRECTOR SYDNEY ALLAWAY PHOTOGRAPHED BY MADDIE STELLINGWERF MODELS ALI WATSON, LILLIAN HOTCHKIN & SNEKHA SARAVANAN DESIGNER ALLY WOODRING

The switch is off, Stumbling to the bed on edge, This new room brings back juvenile fear Both claustrophobic and exposed

Seeking solace in the cover of thinning sheets, My confidence lies in the beacon across the floor

This neon goddess, Shining through the void; Celestial brightness followed me here Making the dark that much more bearable

Sitting upright in the deafening quiet, I can see my hands, The years of work on them The years of work ahead of them Mapped out like an atlas, Light shed on what these hands have yet to accomplish All it took was one plug in the wall To remind me where I am, Colored light illuminates the familiar; Creased book covers, Unfinished tea mugs, Yesterday’s scramblings on torn pages

So here I lay; No longer blind to the new world I found myself in, But illuminated The things I can see bring about the calm, A respite from the worries and concern The unknown become known, The blind blessed with Sight

The void is unbelievably overwhelming; What’s in it? A limitless supply of heartaches, But that light, It burns it all away until something comes over me; The solace of home, the comfort of rest

WRITTEN BY BEAU GLYNN