He laid there seizing in pain
Because of an addiction
Gone wrong.

You could have said,
How can we help you get better?
You could have said,
We are family and
We are here for you.

Yet you said nothing.
You just laughed at his pain.
You ridiculed him as if
His pain was not worth
Your attention.

Parents
Often described as
A gift from God

But more often than not
We forget
They are human too
Capable of mistakes
Just like you and I

Their presence
Doesn’t need to feel
Heavenly

Dear brain,
Can you stop telling me
All the things I've done wrong?
I know I'm not perfect

Can you instead
Tell me all the things
I've done right?
I could use some positivity

Thank you,
Me

I’m always afraid of the worst
The fear just churns in my head
Fuelling more of my anxious thoughts
It’s an unfortunate cycle
That I’m desperately trying to break

There is too much happening
Too much to care about
Too much to fight for
All worthy causes
But the biggest fight of all
Is to be empathetic
In this apathetic world

When I was younger
I thought I
Craved attention
But in reality I just
Wanted to be acknowledged
By the people I cared about,
Even in a small way

It's peaceful today
No overwhelming emotions
Trying to leak out

It seems balanced
Life is not perfect
But it's not chaos

Why do you deserve what you have
And more?

While the man outside begging
For his life
Deserves what he has
And nothing more

People will try to belittle
You
Not because
There is something wrong
With you
But because they don't know
How else to feel better

Father
Please forgive me
You asked me to be
Your vessel
In this world

But How can I be of help
When I am so broken
And cracked?
I can barely contain
myself

And here I stand
On the edge of change
Should I dare?
Should I dare take a step?

I don't want things to change
They say change is for the best
But is it really good
If I am unrecognizable
To myself?

Meeting a close friend
After an eternity feels so unreal

Your brain is trying to understand
That they are finally in front of you

But your heart knows
They never left you

I create clutter
In my head and around me
When I'm stressed
Because I have no energy
To clean it up

As the clutter increases,
My frustration increases with it
Until I can no longer function
Till I clean it up

How long before I finally
learn the lesson
To take care of myself?

I don't want to be happy
I want to be content

Happiness is too fleeting
Dependent on
neurotransmitters

Contentment on the other hand
Is more viable
It's being thankful for where you are
And with what you have
Without getting too comfortable
In that place

I try, I try
To get out of the darkness
But one foot is in light
and the other in despair

Why don’t I want to be
fully immersed in light?

Maybe I don’t want others
To see me stripped bare
Or
I don’t want to acknowledge
My own ugliness

You deserve the best in life
Regardless of how much
You have
Failed or disappointed
Yourself

You have an impact on this world
Even if you do not see it
Someone somewhere
Is happy knowing
You're on this planet

Keep taking it one day
At a time

Love,
Me

I don't hate you
You were my favorite person
Growing up

I'm just disappointed in how
Different you are
From what I remembered

I am randomly getting feelings
of impending doom

As if the world will
End tonight
As if someone I love
Will leave me today
As if there is no
Tomorrow

I’ve had this recurring
Dream ever since i
Was young

There was an infinite row of
Spanish Style houses
Cool and fresh air
Whistled through the
Palm trees
Sun's warmth coated me
Like a warm hug
There was no noise or clutter
Just peace

I felt at home,
At ease
In that paradise

It's starting to wear off;
The excitement and yearning
It's more of a residual
Longing for those feelings

As time progresses
It will be an afterthought
Of emotions I had
Once upon a time

All my life I’ve heard
That I’m not enough
I’m not fair enough
I’m not tall enough
I’m not skinny enough
I’m not smart enough

Enough is enough

I have learnt to
Be enough for me
And that’s all that matters

The rawness of this world
Is often overwhelming
That’s why easier to find an escape
Rather then live in the moment

We are safe in our hiding place
But from there
we can only
watch life slip away

Eyes are so simple
Yet so mysterious

A quick glance can tell you
What they're conveying
But the longer you look
The more depths
You discover

When I was younger
I always thought
My family loved each other
Not unrealistically like in the movies
But more in their humanly
And flawed way

But now that I am older
I wonder if it was love at all
It all feels like an illusion
To cover up the rotten core
Of greed and pride

Never ignore your fear
It takes one moment of
Repression
And before you know it
It's got you by the throat

I want to be hopeful,
I want to dream
Of a simple
Yet bright future

But the fear of
It taken away from me
Is as real as
The stars in the sky

We have to fight for
Our futures

No one is going to
Hand you your dreams
On a silver platter

There is a barrier
Of deep fog
That I know I need
to go through

My fear is not of the fog
But of what is residing there

Are there monsters
From my nightmares
Or is there the peace
That I’ve been dreaming about

Why is forgiveness important?

It’s not for the other person
But it’s for you
You need to let go of the pain
So you can hold
Something else instead

I want to be free
as a child
Running though a meadow
With no fear of tomorrow

I want to fly
Like a ballerina
Leaping in the air
With no fear of landing

Imagine a car being stuck in snow
No matter how hard you try
To accelerate out of
The pit of despair
You will be stuck there
That is helplessness

But if you have one person,
Just one,
helps you
You can get out
That’s the power of
Friendship

I think everyone is being haunted
Maybe not by something supernatural
But something more sinister:
Regrets
Missed opportunities
and
the choking sensation of their fear

I graduated from
university today

I want to thank my parents,
My friends, and everyone else
Who helped me to get here

But most of all I want to thank
My past selves for not giving up
Despite everything

This achievement is dedicated
to the
10 year old who continued on
Despite not knowing what tomorrow looked like
To the
16 year old who lost sleep thinking
About the future
And what it holds

Girls,
By God's grace
We made it!
I'm sure one day
I'll be thanking
my 22 year old self
As well!

My grandparents house
was a safe haven,
A space where
Time nor stress
existed

A place filled with
My grandmothers
Stories of birds
And princesses
That lulled me
Into peaceful
Sleep

A place filled with
memories of
Eating mangoes,
And popsicles
with My grandfather
On hot summer days

Storm clouds are lifting
I can see the shore
The doubts are fading away
I may actually get there

Why are humans
Divided in race, ethnicity,
****** orientation, or gender?

Why can't we be united
In our brokenness?
Every single one of us is broken
Not in the same way or from
But still broken

This quality should unite us,
But why does this
Always draw a wedge
Between us

Why do I need to be shackled
To man’s identity?
Is that all I’m created for:
To get married and live in
Someone else’s shadow?

Thinking about you
And what you represent

My head is spinning
Out of control
Thinking about everything
That can be
And could be

It’s hard to see
everyone fit in while
you’re an odd jigsaw puzzle
Be patient!
You fit in with God
And the beautiful community
He provides

I think I have to let go
Because it’s starting to hurt
But the what if’s
Make the blisters bearable

I used to be terrified
of lightning and thunder
when I was younger.
The bright bursts of light
the loud sounds
were too much to handle
for my frightened mind.

Now that I am older
I have learned to love them.
They are evidence of how
beautiful and poweful
Mother Nature is.

It takes courage to live
Even if you have to
Take it one day at a time

Each moment you try to survive
Takes you closer to the time
When things will be better

I feel like a
Lost compass
Spinning out of control
Not knowing where
True north is

Where am I going?
Do you know?

If you do
can you tell me?
Because it all looks
Foggy from here

Learn to love yourself
Before you love
Anyone else

I have always wondered
What I will look like when
I take off all of my masks

As I am slowly taking them off
I see scars that
I'm not proud of
But there is more beauty
Than I originally
Anticipated

You stand there and laugh
At your pedestal  
As if you’re better than me
But are you?

We both come from dirt
And will be dirt.

When monsters are gnawing
At your heart
It is so easy to surrender
Trust me I've lost that fight
Many times and
Regretted it every time

But it only takes one minute
Of courage
To stand up and fight
Trust me it can be draining
But you'll thank yourself
Later

Have we gendered the earth
As a female
So we can control
And own her?

There is something special
About listening to
Calming music
As you're falling asleep

Your soul
Can freely float
As you rest
Underneath