Lines and layers

New eyes wide open to clear lines

boundaries optimistically balanced to ricochet lessons learnt

Then the blur as growth spurts

flushed cheeks ensuing rebellious standoffs

It is never clear in those murky waters,

that jolt and jostle a stirred sense

As if at any moment one may drown

as the flow takes control one more is lost

As an etched story accumulates

lines will be crossed in silence

But layers speak a deafening betrayal

as survival dictates all will succumb

So do not fear what is fate

do not turn away, step forward

Leave the baggage on judgment’s door

and bask in wisdom’s light

- Camille Delaquise

This poem appears in Behind the Facade, Camille’s debut contemporary poetry collection. Lines and layers speaks to the hard-won wisdom that emerges through growth, rupture and survival — revealing how the marks we carry become less a source of shame than a record of endurance and deeper seeing.

This poem is available as a contemporary poetry print on textured recycled card.