Dear seven year old,
Yes, there is a monster
But it’s not under your bed

The monster is in your head
But maybe it’s not even a monster
Maybe it’s just buried pain
Because they told you not to cry

Dear seven year old,
Yes, you should keep crying
Otherwise the tears will build up and flood your insides

The tears do not care for being stuck
They need to be released
Into the stars

Dear seven year old,
Yes, your plea for better times are being heard by the stars
They always will
Keep wishing on them

Wish on 11:11 too
Because to wish is to know what you want
And knowing what you want
Telling it
Makes it so much more likely to happen

Dear seven year old,
Yes, you still feel like the kid sitting under the slide and just observing life
And you’ve come to appreciate it

Observing, looking, watching
Make all the difference
Almost as much as writing

Dear seven year old,
Write.

I can't do brain
I can't do thoughts
I can't do friends
And I can't do smoking in parking lots

I can't do death
But I also can't do living

I can't do anything
Except for just giving
And giving

I guess the medication worked
I don’t feel depressed

I don’t feel anything anymore

I will always defend you
My spirited child
One day you'll sit quietly
But for now, run wild

Laugh loudly, cry freely
Get mud in your hair
Let rainbows and sparkles
Dictate what you wear

Have no inhibitions
Sing and dance as you please
Come home with wet socks on
And scuffs on your knees

Fizz with electricity
Spin round and round
Do cartwheels and swing
Until the world's upside down

Delight in the lights
When we drive after dark
Keeping waving hello
To every dog in the park

Ask questions, big questions
'What about when we die?'
Look for the loved ones
We lost in the sky

Play fight with your brother
Make him laugh till he cries
And chat from your car seat
The what's, when's and whys

One day you'll care
You'll sit quietly and blush
We'll get there, I know
But for now, what's the rush?

I will always defend you
My spirited child
You're never too much
You're bright, free and wild

One they stopped
Going to the playground
But you stayed.

One day they stopped listening
To their parents
Yet you obeyed.

The others grew up
When you did not.

For them it was nothing,
For you it was a lot.