Perhaps I'm most beautiful
asleep in class,
the blue light of the overhead projector
kissing my face.
When I make my friends shake with
stupid, unbridled, blind laughing,
leaning against the vending machine.
When I tilt my head back
at the good part of a song,
sitting in the sweet-smelling bus seat,
my knees propped up.
When I stay up 'til eleven,
and talk about fourteen-year-old thoughts.
When I get joyfully lost in my own weird, growing-up thoughts,
sitting in church,
and I get startled by the Lord's prayer.

I like my ****** expressions, my bright eyes, my delicate eyelashes, my pale hands, lace veins lining them, and my aching heart.
The pain in my chest
in the middle of a song.
My heavy eyelids.
My light, weighed-down feet.
And my hipbones
that carry the weight of the world.

This is for the people out there
Who are saddened by the thought of tomorrow
Who are comforted by the cold touch of that blade
You are beautiful
Even when you're not
Because you're you
And that will always be enough

This is for the people out there, still locked in your closets
I see you,
And I know how cold it gets, locked away from the sun
Behind the closed closet door
Come out into the light, its warmer out here

This is for the people who are shaken by nerves every day
Without fail
Stay strong, don't let those nerves get you down
They are a part of you,
accept them, and move on
But don't forget how far you've come

And this is for the heartbroken people out there
Always be yourself
And someday, your perfect partner will come along
Determined to make you blush
Until then, you will have to be enough for yourself

As for everyone else out there,
You are the light in someones life

You just might not know it yet.

Autumn is the middle child, of Mother Moon and Father Sun
She is less cold and harsh than her sister Winter
Less feisty and forward than her sister Summer
She is less gentle and kind as her sister Spring
And while she is not physically the only middle child
She shares that title with her fraternal twin Spring
She is the middle of all her family,
Occasionally gentle like Mommy and Spring,
Sometimes feisty like Daddy and Summer,
She can even be harsh, on her bad days, like the eldest child, Winter
Do you see now, why Autumn is different?
Special?
In the middle?
She even goes by Fall, a nickname that Aunt Earth gave her
All those years ago
Before Auntie got sick
And Mommy got sad
Because Daddy made the flowers shun her
And Summer came home to visit later each year
And Winter stayed too long
Because her husband Frost hit her
And Spring came to tend the garden and left
And now Autumn is all but invisible

Once upon a time
You found joy in simple things
It was a jar of baby carrots
Now it's two carat diamond rings

Once upon a time
Every ounce of you was hope
You always prepared for the best
Now you prepare yourself to cope

Once upon a time
That smile didn't leave your face
Now when you feel it on your lips
You press it down until it's straight

Childhood you
Was a bit naive
But now that you're grown up
You've lost the courage to believe

It's easy to be cynical
Bad things are all over, after all
We're all business, things hardly impress us
But maybe that's our downfall

So think like you did once upon a time
And don't worry about being understood
Look around, lift your eyes off the ground
And find joy in anything good

Go ahead and stay hopeful
Being let down sometimes
Is better than being hopeless
And staying down at all times

Childhood you
Was a bit naive
Or perhaps more in-tune
With what happiness means