I wrote this for a school assignment to write a poem or prose piece with the theme of "light and dark" and just thought to put it up here. Note that the lack of paragraphs stems from lack of editing and that it looks much better double spaced (don't know if you can double space on this forum).

People fear the dark. They think it unnatural, blotting out their precious light. Never seeing the good, assuming the worst. And never realizing, that the dark they fear exists only in thought. That it is nothing, simply the world absent of the light they love. They cling to light like children to a blanket, never relishing their gift but always afraid to let it out of their control. They fear it will flee, leave them to the dark forever. It is this which they justify, convincing themselves the thing they fear has no place in the universe. They do not realize that light and dark are intertwined. Although the one has energy and the other does not, they need each other. All we perceive through the mind. The mind perceives the world through contrast, remove the dark or the light and the mind will perceive neither, we will perceive neither. One who understands not this nature of light and dark, understands not the world as born from these two. They do not see that light and good, that dark and evil, do not always walk hand in hand. The gift of light can reveal only to blind. A part may become clear while the whole, through the same act, becomes obscured or is even blotted out by the clarity of one detail. Thus blinded are those who do not see the light’s potential for destruction, they believe that sight is the only sense they will ever need. In the same manner dark’s concealment is not purely evil. Often does evil cling to dark, just as the blind cling light. They think only evil, benefits from the concealment. Time spent in such darkness brings valuable lessons and evil may hind in the blinding light. To comprehend a universe, one must understand the light and the dark.

After seeing it the teacher who runs Mimesis submitted it to one of the prose contests and it won for my grade; Mimesis is a group in my school that puts out an annual publication containing the best art and writing from students and teachers and runs several art and writing contests. After writing it I didn't have time to edit it so it is somewhat choppy sounding but it still sounds pretty good and what it explores ties into the psychology and self-exploration stuff I'm interested in.