TenPastTen

TenPastTen is a quiet corner for old souls who love literature, poetry, good conversation, and above all, being a romantic.

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1–2 minutes

reading

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Undaunted

Heavy lead sits in the chest

Where doubt once claimed the space between us.

It pulls at the hours,

Stretches the miles into something that feels final.

Yet I choose the fire of intention.

I strip away every covering,

Stand raw, naked, bare—

No armor, no careful image or persona,

Nothing left to hide behind.

In that exposure the weight begins to change.

A turning point is reached at a spring,

But water can erode or reveal.

Doubt that was dense and cold

Softens under the steady heat of truth.

Lead yields.

Gold remains.

This love will outlast the calendar

and the map.

It does not ask permission from time

or wait for the road to shorten.

Sincerely, find me

in the open place where the transformation already lives.

Comments

2 responses to “Undaunted”

  1. The Creative Chic Avatar
    The Creative Chic

    There’s something incredibly powerful in the way you describe doubt as this heavy, almost immovable weight, and then show how truth, intention, and vulnerability slowly begin to transform it. The choice to strip away every covering, to stand without armor, without an image, without a carefully constructed version of ourselves, is such a profound kind of courage.

    “Lead yields. Gold remains.” I really love those four words. It speaks to the idea that what is real doesn’t necessarily avoid hardship. Time and distance may test something, but they don’t get to define its worth.

    There’s a quiet strength in this piece that feels both vulnerable and deeply certain. Love that is willing to be seen fully, to remain intentional, and to keep choosing truth has a depth that a calendar or a map simply can’t measure.

    Sincerely. Bruised. Flawed, but Together.

    Beautifully written. ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. 10Past10 Avatar
      10Past10

      Thank you for this.
      You saw exactly what I was trying to reach for—doubt as weight, and the slow work of truth and intention and bare presence beginning to change its shape. The courage isn’t in never doubting; it’s in choosing, again and again, to set the armor down anyway.

      I’m especially grateful you held onto the four words you isolated. “Lead yields. Gold remains.” That line has been living with me for a while. It’s inspired from the lyrics of “The Grudge” by tool…a band you have referenced before. 💙

      Hardship doesn’t disprove something real. Time and distance test it, refine it, sometimes bruise it—but they don’t get the final word on its worth.

      Your reading of the quiet strength in the piece means more than I can say. Love that stays willing to be seen fully, that keeps choosing truth over the safer image of itself, does carry a depth no calendar or map can measure.

      Sincerely. Bruised. Flawed, but still choosing together.

      Thank you for meeting the writing with such care. And thank you for your encouragement.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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