I was Wrong

Oh horror!
Blindness and idiocy!
I was wrong...

There is a cave within my mind,
a place I return to time and again.
It is dark and damp and cold.
It is a place of depression, of wallowing;
there I spend many inspired times.
Once I thought chains held me there,
in time I thought I was bound.
Felt shackled and caged, cramped.
Tortured by the hellfires, unable to breathe.

But the sun still shines high above,
birds still sing, and there is no need to weep.
I can leave anytime I wish...I have only to walk.
I can run and dance and twirl and jump
in the meadows of love and hope.
The chains with which I fixed myself
lie broken and useless within.
Joy springs from the eternal well.

I wrap myself in the warmth of love,
in the joy of passion and new friends.
Though I'll try to forget, I never will.
Memories tend to haunt me forever.
But I've learned and I've lost and I've been wrong.
I can admit it and I cherish it well.
Understanding may one day break through clouds;
forgiveness, though hard, already has.