Where Light Hides

There are jewels resting upon an open palm,
soft as water brushing the skin,
casting a faint glow,
barely visible in the dim light.

Sometimes, it’s not that their light is weak.

It’s simply that the eyes gazing upon them
lack the depth
to notice a glimmer woven into subtlety.

Nothing goes more unnoticed
than a jewel in the hand
of someone who doesn’t know how to see it.

There are flashes of radiance
that fold inward,
like petals closing at the touch
of a cold wind.

Soft textures,
cool as still water in winter,
await the warmth of a gaze
capable of pausing long enough to truly see.

It’s not weakness.
It’s self-preservation.

To guard one’s light
is to protect it
from hands too fragile or too rough
to hold it without breaking it.

Because there are skins
too coarse to touch delicate things.

And there are eyes so clouded
that even the purest gleam
turns into mineral silence.

The jewel remains a jewel,
even when hidden beneath shadows.

Its radiance pulses
beneath the surface,
waiting for steady, gentle hands
willing to hold
what cuts and what illuminates.

Someday, the light will find refuge
in eyes brave enough
not to blink.

**If you’ve ever felt your light retreating,
unseen by those unable to hold its glow…

Tell me your story.

Here, your words have a place to shine.**

JADE NAYARA