Fault
In the quiet tremor of a child's heart,
A fault lies hidden deep within and unseen,
Where innocence fractures and chips apart,
By a world too harsh, too sharp and mean.
A fault—my fault, they whisper in the dark,
The blame laid heavy on tender skin,
Yet how can a heart so young bear the mark,
Of a world’s weight of an inherited sin?
In the earth beneath, a fault does divide,
Silent and shifting beneath the feet,
Like secrets kept and like tears we hide,
In a dance of denial, broken and incomplete.
Yet in the fault, a crack that widens still,
A place where pain and earth collide,
There blooms the strength of iron will,
In the rupture a resilience will abide.
A fault in character that they said is just a flaw,
But what if it’s the place where light shines through?
Where brokenness reveals a deeper law,
That to heal we must first undo.
Fault, they called it in whispered tones,
But I say it’s where we find our truth,
In the chasm where we’re most alone,
We discover the resilience of youth.
Through faults the earth does quake and shift,
But so too, the soul begins to mend,
From the trauma vapored from the rift,
We rise, unbroken and stronger in the end.
For every fault that scars our past,
There’s a strength that blooms anew,
A testament that we can last,
And in our healing, we are made true.
-aubs
July 31, 2024
(Ode to Robin Williams SERIES)
This poem speaks to a deep, hidden fault— wounds and perceived flaws—that lies within my heart, much like the emotional scars we all carry. The imagery of innocence fractured and burdened by the harshness of the world evokes a sense of blaming myself for something I never caused. I was inspired by that moment in *Good Will Hunting*, where the character is gently, yet persistently, reminded that the pain and guilt they've internalized aren't theirs to bear.
Just as Robin Williams’ character reassures, telling Sean (Matt Damon), he is also telling me and others bearing such pain and weight of the past, over and over that “It’s not your fault”.... it's not our fault... we were children.... And that the blame doesn't belong to the one who suffers, this poem reflects that sentiment. It explores the idea of a "fault"—a crack, a perceived weakness—but gradually transforms it into something more profound. This fault isn’t a flaw; it’s a place of potential, where resilience is born and strength blossoms. The grief of what happened can help guide. Feeling it is essential!
The poem insists that these wounds, these "faults," are not marks of failure or inherent flaws but the places where healing and growth occur. It's a reminder that in the face of adversity, the pain isn’t mine to hold onto; instead, it’s an opportunity for growth and self-discovery. The poem echoes that same message I need to hear: that the weight I carry doesn’t define me—it’s what I do with it that does. Just like in *Good Will Hunting*, I have to acknowledge that the hurt isn’t my fault, and that realization is where true healing begins.
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