Hearing Only Echoes
Living in the shadows
A Villanelle
Hearing only echoes,
artifacts of fear,
living in the shadows.
Listening without hope,
wasting all those years,
hearing only echoes.
Looking through with one stroke,
searching far and near,
living in the shadows.
Learning what will follow,
it begins to ring clear,
hearing only echoes.
Looking for the white rose
caught among the thorns here,
living in the shadows.
Searching for this lost hope,
breaking loose from fear;
hearing only echoes
living in the shadows.
Many friends and relatives have been living in the shadows of lost hope and depression for years. For some, this presents itself as despondency and clinical depression. For others, it presents as substance misuse and abuse.
For still others, it expresses in conspiracy theories, imagined persecutions, and acts of vindication against the truly marginalzed and oppressed.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said:
“The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”
This is what it means to hear only echoes and live in the shadows. Taking the time to be loving to those around us can effect more change in our culture than we might at first realize - being the white rose.
Thank you for taking the time to read! I sincerely appreciate your support.
Copyright © 2025, Robert G. Metivier. All Rights Reserved.
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I especially appreciated the context provided, along with the quote from Mother Theresa.
A wonderful post. I posted something recently about hope and loneliness too. Hopefully someone who needs the encouragement reads this