you are light and grace
and the stars wish upon themselves
to shine like you.

let's be wildflowers,
let our souls be scattered by the wind.
let us grow, wild and free,
tall and brave,
in the places that we dream,
in the places where our longings
are filled.
let us grow between the cracks
of brokenness,
and we will make everything beautiful.

this heart, my heart,
beats in poetry
because it doesn’t know
how else to beat,
because it doesn’t know
how else to feel,
because it doesn’t know
how to let out everything i keep inside.
this heart beats in poetry
for you,
for me.

i am magic.
i am the night sky and every single star,
i am the ocean and every ripple and wave.
i am a house of flesh and bone,
of hope and freedom.
i am a bird,
wild and free,
i am everything i dream of being.
i am a song,
a song of bravery and love,
of light and gold.
i am a voice that is not unheard;
my words are not shouted off into a void.
i am my heart, my words, my love.
i am known,
i am loved.

me quiero así.
me quiero así, con mis ojos color noche
y mi nariz redonda
y la luna de canela que vive sobre ella.
me quiero así,
con mi pelo rizado e indomable
que solo se deja llevar por el viento.
me quiero así,
con mi piel del mismo color
del café con leche
que me gusta tanto.
me quiero así,
con mi poesía y sin ella,
con las palabras que siento,
con las palabras que callo.
me quiero así,
mágica y única;
porque así soy,
porque así me hicieron,
porque sí.

i will always be her,
this girl with the wild curls
and the gentle eyes
that look for poetry in the sunset sky,
and i will always be her,
this girl with bravery
seeping into her bones,
with freedom tattooed on her skin.
i will always be her,
this girl with a heart
full of dreams and hope,
and words to write.
i will always be her,
this girl with a soul too big,
a light too bright.
i will always be her,
and no one can't take that from me.

you say that when i’m skinny
i’ll be pretty,
but don’t you see that now
i smile easily,
and my eyes look like the stars?
don't you see that my laughter
sounds like a song,
and my feet are lighter
and nothing weighs me down?
you say i will be pretty,
but don’t you see that i already am,
that i always have been?
don’t you see i am much more than
pretty,
that i am someone with dreams,
with hope and light?

you are the sky
and your smile is the sun
and i hope every day
to see the sunrise on your skin,
to see your lips dance
as you let the light in
you are the sky
and your eyes are the stars
and i wish upon them every night.

i love me like this,
with the night in my eyes
and the cinnamon moon
that sits atop my nose.
i love me like this,
with my wild and untamable curls,
who only listen to the wind.
i love me like this,
with my skin that matches
the café con leche i love to drink.
i love me like this,
with my poetry and without her;
with the words i feel
and the words i’ve kept to myself.
i love me like this,
light and free;
because this is who i am,
this is who i was made to be.

let’s be love letters
written to broken hearts
with words of kindness, of grace,
of hope.
let’s be love songs
that play over and over,
that echo in every soul.
let’s be shoulders to lean on,
open wide arms,
open wide hearts.
let’s be lights
that lead each other home.

be love.
shine your light
where it's dark
and show the kindness
in your heart.
be love
and wrap your arms
around broken hearts.
don't keep quiet
and say words
that heal,
that bring hope.
just be love.

touch my heart
the way the sun touches the clouds
at sunset, filling them with color,
with light.
touch my heart
like rain touches the earth,
softly,
breathing life in it,
making it bloom.
touch my heart,
touch my life,
touch my soul.

i have swam for so long, and i am so far away.
so far away of who i was, by grace.
but far away of who i want to be.
but i won’t drown.
i will fight the waves.
i will look for joy and for loveliness.
i will make my days count.
i will let grace rain over me
and let it cover every fault.
i will fight the waves,
fight my fears,
the pain,
the sadness,
the words that escape me
and hide.
i won’t hide, i won’t drown.
i will fight the waves
and swim home.

a list of the things my soul forgot:

i am still brave
i am free
i am beautiful
i have hope
i am redeemed
i am alive
and my story is still being written
i am worth more than the words i write
and i have worth even when i cannot write
and i am also worth more than the sun
and the moon
and the stars
i can dream
i am not perfect and it is okay to struggle
because even though i don’t deserve grace
it is mine
i am lovely
and i am loved
and even if i forget the truth
that doesn’t change that
it is still true.

am i not brave?
am i not still here?
isn't that the sound of my heart,
beating?
don't my eyes still wonder at the
stars above them?
has my soul stopped singing?
its voice is weak and
its light has dimmed,
but i can still hear my song,
i can still see my light.
i haven't left.
i am still here.
i am brave.

there are stars you
haven't seen
and loves you haven't loved
there's light you haven't felt
and sunrises yet to dawn
there are dreams
you haven't dreamt
and days you haven't lived
and nights you won't forget
and flowers yet to grow
and there is more to you
that you have yet to
know.

come closer,
look inside,
and don’t be afraid
of what you might find.
travel down
the roads of your soul,
until you know by heart
every corner and place
of your being.
learn your fears so
you may know how
to fight them,
and gaze at your skies
and try to number
the millions of stars
in your heart,
and trace with your hands
every bit of who you are,
and know yourself
so you may not
forget yourself,
and your worth,
and the constellations
of grace and light
inside you.
do not forget yourself,
do not ignore the
melody of your heart,
do not doubt your
beauty, your worth,
and the bits of glory
and stardust sprinkled
on your skin.
come closer.

you are loved
you are loved
you are loved
my soul,
know it,
my soul
grace is yours
grace is yours
grace is yours
my soul,
know it,
my soul
you are redeemed
you are redeemed
you are redeemed
my soul,
know it,
my soul.

your wild hair
is just a little
glimpse of who
you are,
it tells me
that your heart
and your dreams
and soul
are just as wild
as those locks
of yours
you are lovely
and free
and brave
and
your heart finds
life in color
and boldness
and who you are,
wildflower,
makes you beautiful.

i want to be
the stars in your sky
and the sun rays
that shine on
your face
and maybe even be
the air
in your lungs
and i want to
be one of the reasons
why you smile
why you wake up
and want to be more
than who you are
and i want
to be the soundtrack
to your happy days
and i want to
make you feel
things you've never
felt before
and i want to
maybe even
own a little
piece of your
heart.

i want
to
dream,
to love,
to never settle
for less than more,
to look at the
stars and know
i was made to
shine brighter
than they do,
to look at the sky
and know it is
my home,
to run wildly
and freely,
unafraid and
brave,
to dare to jump
and fall and
rise,
to
dream,
to love,
to never settle
for less than more.

is it silly to write you a poem
when we've never kissed,
when we've never spoken,
when we've never met?
is it silly to tell you that i love you
when i don't even know
if i'll ever know you?
is it silly to want you,
to crave you, to say that i miss you?
is it silly that i can't write these verses
without wanting to cry, wanting to mourn
the loss of someone i never had?
is it silly to think that one day
i'll show you these words
and you'll smile when you
think at how things turned out?
is it silly to believe that i won't be alone?

we are poems.
beautifully written,
wonderfully designed;
marvelous works of art.
we are written with
starlight and wonder,
with verses of beauty
written across our hearts.
we are walking rhymes,
walking wonders,
walking words that tell
stories of freedom
and redemption.
we are poetry,
we are songs,
we are melodies
that are sung on
bright days.
we are the words of grace,
we are the words unforgotten,
we are words that remain.

i love your heart,
i love it because
it dwells on beauty
and bravery and gold.
i love your heart,
because your heart
has learned to love
its brokenness.
i love your heart,
because your heart
looks beyond and
finds light in the dark places.
i love your heart,
because your heart
hasn't stopped loving,
because your heart
refuses to be disappointed
by what it finds in this world,
because your heart
hasn't given up,
because your heart
still believes in grace
in love, in kindness,
in wonder and light.
i love your heart because
it keeps beating.

don't keep quiet.
go, and tell your story.
sing it from the rooftops
and shout it from the mountaintops.
write it in the sky,
tattoo it on your skin
and braid it in your hair;
tell your story.
don't let it go unheard,
because there is wonder
in your story,
there is grace in your
redemption,
because your words
are stepping stones
to freedom.
tell your story.

i tried,
but now i know
that i
can't save you.
that i
can't make you
believe that you
are brave and
worthy and
lovely and
capable of
so much more.
i can't
make you
believe in my
words
but i can
write them
and i can
love you
and point you
to the Light
and to the Love
that
saved me.
i can't
save you
but i
can jump
and take
a leap of faith
and follow
freedom and
joy and redemption
and only hope
that you
will be brave enough
to follow me.

you aren't
less worthy
less important
less powerful
because you're
b r o k e n.
your brokenness is
no obstacle for light
to shine through you.
the light shines
through the cracks.

bravery doesn't
happen overnight
bravery
has been living in your
bones, dormant,
but alive,
waiting for you
to see that it has
always been yours
waiting for you
to marvel when you
see that you can do
what you've always
wanted to do
and be who
you've wanted to be

i wish my words
were enough.
enough to heal you
so that i could use
them as a balm to
place over your heart.
enough to take the
bandages from your
eyes so that you could see
the constellations that
made your soul their home.
enough to make you smile,
enough to make you see
that this is not it
enough to make you see
that there is more
enough to make you see
that you were made for more
enough to make you
love your struggle
and enough to make you
rise from the ashes
and i just wish that my
words were enough
to make you see
that you're enough.

maybe you won't find me beautiful
because of my hair
or my lips
or the color of my skin
maybe you won't love
the way i walk or the way i dress
but i hope you fall in love with
the words in my soul
and the fire in my heart
and the myriad of stars in my eyes
and the wonder and grace that
are tangled in my hair
and the bravery that is
locked up in my bones
and the unfading beauty
of my spirit
and if you think that's
beautiful,
that is enough for me.

maybe i keep
running away from You
because i am afraid
to let You love me,
maybe i keep running
because i don't want to
believe that grace and
mercy are waiting for me
maybe i keep running
because i know i don't
deserve what You
want to give me and maybe
i keep running
because it's not fair
that You keep chasing me
but i don't want to run;
i want to stay trapped
in your heart
and know by heart
the rhythm of your breathing
i want to never escape
the stronghold of your embrace
i want to stay and never leave
and never wander and never run.

sometimes on bright days
when i can't stop smiling,
when i look up at the sky
with a sparkle in my eyes
i can hear your voice
and i feel the scars you
left on my heart
and i wonder if the sun
is shining for you too
i wonder if the same hope
that is nestled in my heart
lives in yours too
and sometimes i wonder
if the last words
i said to you visit you
at night just like the pain
you gave me sometimes does
but mostly i wonder
if you're happy
i wonder if you have love
i wonder if the memories
of the short amount of bliss
that we had make you smile
i wonder if you're okay
and honestly, i
hope you are.

other people’s words
made my words seem small
but my words are mine
my words are special
my words are mine
my words have threads
of my soul woven into them
my words are mine
my words have my fire
my words are mine
my words are beautiful
my words are mine
my words come from my heart
my words are mine
my words have my love
my words are mine
my words share my story
my words are mine
my words share my struggle, my fight
my words are mine
my words come from my lips
my words are mine
my words come from my hands
my words are mine
my words have my fingerprints on them
my words are mine
my words can’t be told by anyone else
my words are mine
my words can’t be written by anyone else
my words are mine
my words don’t belong to anyone else
and i'll sing it from the rooftops
and shout it from the mountaintops
that my words are mine,
my words are mine,
my words are mine.

one of these days you'll see me
smiling at the sun,
running freely in a meadow, picking flowers
and placing them on my hair.
one of these days you'll find me
writing my story in the sky,
singing the song of my
freedom and redemption.
one of these days i'll be
dressed in bravery and gold,
with fireworks in my eyes
and truth written on my skin,
with the taste of joy on my tongue
and bliss in my footsteps
because i will be free and
brave and carefree and hopeful
one of these days.

don't be afraid to dream
because dreams were made for you
and you were made to dream.
darling,
close your eyes,
and let your soul be surprised
by the fire kindled in your heart
and the spark that lights your eyes.
so darling,
close your eyes,
and let your soul be surprised
and let it marvel at the dreams
that were planted in your heart
and just like wildflowers,
let them bloom.
but darling,
don't be surprised
when the wildflowers blossom
and your dreams come true.

look up at the sky
and smile at it,
because as endless as the sky
is the hope you’ve been given
and the love inside your heart.
because as beautiful as the sky
are your dreams.
because you shine brighter
than the sun in the sky
and have more worth
than all the stars in heaven.
look up at the sky
and smile at it,
because heaven is your home.

joy shines through
the darkness and
the bitterness of the
season you’re walking through.
it shines through
your heart and your soul
and who you are because
you refuse to let your
joy be stolen.
instead, you give it away,
sprinkling and scattering
and showering everyone
you run into with streams
and beams and rays of
this pure and immaculate
bliss, this real joy
that doesn’t waver,
that doesn’t stumble,
that never ends,
that never fades,
that never goes away.
it’s a fountain, it’s a river
that comes from
living water,
a river that never
stops running,
a river that brings
life to everything
that surrounds it.

i didn’t want rain.
i wanted beauty.
i wanted to see the rising sun
touch the blooming flowers
and i wanted to fall in love
with the glow of the sunset.
but it rained.
maybe i needed the rain,
because i needed to remember
that rain makes
the blooming flowers grow
and rain brings rainbows
and it washes away the
ugliness and brings back beauty.
and maybe i needed the rain
to remind me that i won’t always
be broken, that the brokenness
will be made whole, that this
season one day will be a dim memory,
that You will wipe away my tears,
that You make it rain on my heart
so that flowers can bloom in it,
so rainbows can fill the
skies of my soul.
maybe i just needed it to rain.

open up and let Hope in.
let it dance around your heart.
open up and let Light in.
let your soul know the magic of sunrises.
open up and let Life in.
let it make you bloom.
open up and let Faith in.
let it make you believe again.
open up and let Love in.
let it change you,
let it play with your hair,
let it kiss you,
let it make you want to
fly and touch the clouds.
open your doors
and let Hope and Light
and Life and Faith and Love
stream in and chase away the darkness.
open the windows of your soul
and let boldness and bravery
drown fear out.
open up.

people won't remember
your pretty face
nor your pretty clothes
and the money you had.
they will remember
the melody in your laugh
and the way you loved
and the beauty of your heart
and the bravery of your spirit
and the kindness of your soul.
they won't remember what
you looked like
they won't remember what
you had.
they will remember you
and the words you told them
and the life you spoke to them
and the water you used
to bring to life the dead garden
in their souls
and they will remember the
sunshine in your smile
and the stars that
hid in your eyes.

i was tired,
i was chained,
i was hopeless
and You sang to me,
"you don't have
to carry the world
on your shoulders.
you don't have to
wear those chains.
you can be free.
I already forgave you.
you are blameless."
and as You sang your
song, i realized that i
was the one who
put on myself the
chains i wore.
i didn't have to
carry them, i didn't
have to be a slave
to my chains, to my sin.
i tattooed myself
in shame and i hid my
face from You, not knowing
that all You ever wanted
was to wrap me in your
love and clothe me in grace.

don't hide your face.
don't hide your heart.
don't hide your soul.
don't keep who you are
all to yourself.
let the world see you,
let them see the wonderful
creation that you are.
let them marvel at the
admirable light that shines
inside of you, darling.
don't keep your beauty
and wonder to yourself.
share your brave heart,
show your kind spirit and
your gentle beauty.
but don't keep the ugly inside.
don't keep your doubts and
your fears and your sadness
to yourself.
don't drown in your sorrows
and your tears.
don't bottle yourself up.

i've learned not to fear
the darkness because in it
i see your light
and i've learned to love
my brokenness because
You have promised to
make me whole
and i've learned to boast
about my weakness because
You make me strong.

even if you run away,
even if you hide,
I'm going to chase you.
and I won't stop.
I'm going to pursue you
and I will find you
and you'll see me
in the sky, in the sun,
and in the moon and stars.
and you'll see me
when you buy sunflowers
and when you drink
your morning coffee
and you'll see me in
the sunshine and
you'll see me
in the rainy days, too.
I'll be hiding in the
sunrises and sunsets
and mountains and valleys
and you'll hear my voice
in the radio and in
the songs of birds.
and you'll find me
in the words you write
and in the ones you read
and you will go on walks
and you'll look for me
and you'll find me
at the end of the road
with my arms open wide.

do you know how many
people walk their way
through life never wanting
to be more than what they
are, never giving their selves
the chance to open their
hearts and be bold and
risk it all? do you know
how many people don't
write the stories they want
to share, the poems they want
to write, the songs they want
to sing, the art they want
to make? do you know how
many people deny their selves
the opportunity to be brave, the
chance to be bold, to live in
bright colors instead of black
and white? do you know how
many people live in a cage,
afraid to love, afraid to live,
afraid to hope, afraid to feel,
afraid to be? do you know
how many people don't let
their souls be vulnerable and
beautiful and wonderful? i
hope you're not one of them.

there is wonder and grace
tangled in your curls,
and the night stars have
made your eyes their dwelling place.
and your heart is a garden
with blooming flowers of
joy and beauty, bringing
life and light to the darkness.
hope and heaven live
in your bones,
and in your soul a
songbird sings a melody
of love.

who are you?
you are the loveliest flower,
the brightest star.
you are a reflection of heaven,
you are a sky on fire.
you are the magic that hides in sunsets,
the glory that lives in sunrises,
you are the beauty that rises from the ashes,
you are brokenness made whole.
you are the lyrics to a melody of hope,
you are fearless,
you are brave,
you are free,
you are who
you are meant to be.

stars don't compare to the
constellations of light
inside you,
and all the gold in the world
isn't worth as much as you are.
and the sun, darling,
the sun can't shine brighter than you.
you are sunlight,
you are beams of light and hope
you are bright and beautiful.

with every sunrise and
with every sunset You tell me
that they were made just for me
You tell me that i am not here by mistake
You tell me that my life matters
You tell me that You gave me a brave spirit
You tell me that You put fire in my bones
and a light in my eyes and a beat in my heart
and with every sunrise
and every sunset You tell me
that i am loved.

as i walk through this desert,
through this valley of shadow of death,
i'm keeping my head up,
i'm smiling through the bitterness
because i know this won't last forever
because one day i'll look back
from the mountaintop.