Today Is Not Like Yesterday

Today is beautiful,
today is not like yesterday.
I feel the warmth of the sun,
its rays touching my eyes,
and for the first time,
I see color.
Were the trees always this green?
Was autumn always this graceful?

Today is not like yesterday.
The cool breeze brushes my skin
and I do not flinch;
I let it carry me forward.
My lungs, once heavy,
open like windows.
I breathe in,
and it is enough.
Grateful, once again,
to the Lord above the sky
He hears me, He sees me.

Yesterday was not graceful.
My heart tightened,
my chest grew heavy,
the sky pressed down with gloom.
My eyes betrayed me,
the world blurred.
Yet still I managed to whisper a prayer:
“Please help me
I have no one else,
and it is painful,
and dark again.”
And even then,
I was grateful
to the One who hears me
and sees me.

Today is better than yesterday.
Today I am not just a survivor;
I belong again.
And though the fear of yesterday
sometimes lingers at my door,
I know the light
will find me still.

So today I reach out to my friend and say,
“Listen, it gets better.
Your today will not always be your tomorrow.
And one day soon,
today will find you too.”

“I cannot make you understand, I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”
— Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis