i hope you love yourself.
that every morning when you wake up
you can smile.
i hope
that when you look in the mirror
you can see all that makes you special.
that you don't need to look in the mirror
to remember you're beautiful.
that you love yourself enough
to follow your dreams,
to leave your fears behind.
i hope
that you love yourself enough
to let go of what hurts you,
what weighs you down.
that you love yourself enough to
believe in yourself,
in the light you carry inside.
that you love yourself enough to
live for tomorrow.
i hope you love yourself.
i hope you stay.

stop
and make time
for the things you love,
or the things you love
will stop
making time for
you.

i am not my body.
my soul is too big to fit inside it.
i have left my body many times
looking for a home for my soul.
i tried to fit it inside other bodies
inside someone else's soul
only to get bruised and breathless.
i tried leaving my soul in places
but then
when i left
i ended up missing it
so i brought my soul back to my body.
it knows it is not its home
but it is the only home i know.
every now and then
i let it go
and it visits the stars.

here we are.
and i don't know if we understand
the power of that,
if we understand
the wonder,
the odds,
the millions of seconds
and everything that had to happen
for us to be here.
here we are,
we are walking miracles,
we are breathing art,
we are glory and stars
and grace
living in a house of bones and flesh.

if you think
love is
someone else
if you think
love is
quoting poetry
if you think
love is
flowers on valentine's day
think again.
if you think
love is
waiting for someone to see you
if you think
love is
a kiss
if you think
love is
only there when you are good
think again.
love is
you.
love is
writing love letters and poems to yourself.
love is growing flowers on your garden.
love is seeing and knowing yourself.
love is not a kiss
and love isn't only there when you are good.
love sees you and your brokenness
and love loves it
and love loves you
and love is you.

we never tire of hoping,
you and i.
"if not today, then tomorrow. and if not tomorrow, then the next day,"
we tell ourselves.
we like to play games with hope
and we always let her win.

this is more than a song.
this is more than poetry.
this is my heart.
every day i break it
turn its pieces into words
that will make the pieces of your broken heart
put themselves back together.