After everything, I think—
maybe I’m going to be okay.
And I’ll choose to believe it,
even on the days it doesn’t feel true.

I will grasp it in my hands
And hold it so tightly,
That my knuckles turn white
And my nails dig in,
While I fold it into my heart—
so I don’t lose it along the way.

Because lilacs smell so wonderful,
Hopscotch is simply so joyful,
And persimmons taste sweeter than I expected.
Because the grass feels soft against my back,
The sun feels so warm on my skin,
And a gentle breeze runs through my jacket so pleasantly.

Because the tree's flowers look elegant no matter the time of day,
Dandelions are so unapologetically yellow,
Holding someone’s hand is just utterly delightful,
And soft kisses feel like music.
Even gentle smiles make my own grow wider.

And you,
You are so unbelievably kind and loving.
You exist
And I exist,
And isn't that just so absolutely amazing?

To love
And love
And love and love and love
With such reckless abondon

It's as if I have no choice
But to let my heart bleed out on the floor before me
I think I lose more than I try to give

Tell me,
How can I make my heart beat less?

How can I quell it's waves so that I won't rupture in two?
So that I need not stitch myself back together after every small scratch?

I find intelligence
Goes hand in hand
With idiocracy

Who are you to tell me
That I cannot make foolish choices
Despite knowing what would come next?

After all,
It's hard to separate
Such good friends
From one another

Sometimes,
The best feature of something
Is it's completion

Don't kick the dog who lays down when it's told to

Instead,
Ponder why you haven't done the same yourself

I envy the fables
Of the constellations, the Greek and Norse gods
Of the winds, sky, and oceans
And people and lands of a time long ago.
I know they aren't perfect
Not something to crave entirely
But I think these narratives offer hope
When the world feels vast and unrelenting.
Anecdotes of how the world came to be
And chronicles of mighty beings
Some sad, some happy
Most a mix in between.
Legends told for ages, passed down and remembered through time
To teach others long after you've gone.
Sometimes, I wish I could be a part of such a great legacy
To have a tale so big that people never forget
That I ever existed at all
That I'd loved, lost, fallen and struggled time and time again
And still got back up in spite of it all.
Can I, too, ascend as they have?
Would the world remember my name also if I did?

I think
The real reason my mirror and I
Have never been friends
Was not because I am unlovable
Nor because I am the monster I believe to be
But rather
Its that the eyes of which I look upon it with
Are not of those around me

I realize now that I am blinded
By the glimmers of light reflecting against it
And the dust and dirt muddles the details between
So that I could never see the full picture before
Maybe that is why
I've thought I looked so strange
Compared to others
For so long