Perforated edges all lined up on a page only caused me to focus more on them and tear the paper out imperfectly. These poems are about my imperfections; darkness and despair, but also the light and hope that can coexist among it. Light cannot exist without the darkness. I have learned this year while writing these poems, that my darkness is as much a part of me as the light. I write to embrace it and release it. The pain erupts into words on the page as it processes and finds its way to the light. I'm like a photographer who works in a dark room, knowing there is beauty there, but needing the dark to help it develop. My hope is that my poetry will find you where you are. Maybe you see yourself there in the darkness and read these words and will know in your soul that you are not the only one who experiences feelings so profound. You are not alone. Maybe you see yourself on the other side of despair, in the light of hope. May these words spur you on as you continue your journey.