Salute to a Dark Figure

There is a song by Emmylou Harris called Slow Surprise. The words always seemed so perfect for a profound experience I once had. When this experience happened, I was led to think of it as something dark within me just stood up and walked out the door (I have taken license and changed a few words, but not many)

There is a way subtle changes come to stay
Barely noticed and hardly known
One day you'll say "My situation's locked away"
But by tomorrow, more changes come to stay
It seems so sudden, but it's not, it's only grown
From a seed that long ago was left forgotten in the snow
And has a way with slow surprises on its own

It's hard to show, but like a boulder rolling slow
Or a rumble deep in the ground
Things whisper low, and by the time I really know
What's been moving, they've settled down
Too late to see they're shifting 'round
Too late to say "There's bound to be another way"
It's all been said and done without a sound

This comes to me, now that I begin to see
It's not dramatic, it's nothing grand
I used to be half the whole of you and me
Now I fill the whole of you and me

Seems so simple, nothing much to understand
You walked out and closed the door, said "I don't live here anymore"
Now nothing's hanging heavy in my hands