who do you
want to be?
why?
when?
where?
with who?
how long?

i don’t know where i’m going.

they said if we worked hard
we’d get somewhere.

but were we stupid to think
that only hard work would
take us there?

our work ethic is on fire
but our hearts were stripped bare.

i’m a robot with no name.
i’m of service to you —
here’s your fake smile.
oh, and your latté, too.

how did we become so
consumed with keeping this
machine on track?
it’s not my machine.
i want to get off the track.
but my debt always says,
“you better go back.”

harsh waves meet the shore,
as your sharp tongue meets our ears,
we drown and fade away.

trust yourself, love yourself, be yourself.
be kind, you truly don't know what another person is going through.
if you need help, ask. if you don't understand, ask.
even if you don't need help or even if you do understand, still ask--
someone may be able to teach you something new!
be curious. ask why.
define your success by something other than money.
put yourself first,
it's not selfish, it's necessary.
i love you,
i believe in you,
i respect you.
i hope you live out all of your wildest dreams.
stay gold.

she tells me through tears

you want me to fix you but i can't.

i look up at her as my brows unfurrow
and my clenched teeth relax.

and all i can think is,

well, if you can't then who can?

but the answer is clear

it's me.

and my eyes turn into waterfalls.

forever and a day,
i get carried away.
i’ve become the
skeleton crew
working overtime
on my life.
my fears have
come to comfort me.
i hug them all, I say,
“It’s okay,
you were just
trying to protect
me.”
and they say,
“We’re sorry that
it was from all
you ever wanted.
We didn’t know
the difference
between
love and pain.”

into the darkness,
i came out a light.
from darkness we are born
and to the light we go to die.
have i already died
a hundred times?
darkness is only an
absence of light.
am i only alive when
i’m the most me?
when the light in our eyes goes out
are we then dead temporarily?