This girl, she thinks ugly is a swear word
But she uses it every day in the mirror.
"Why can't I stop, why must I bleed?",
She screams at herself
She's only this loud when she's all alone.

This girl, she wants to be okay.
She just can't see why she feels so naive
"Can everyone be happy so I can just sleep?",
She whispers to herself
Her voice is always quiet even when she's all by herself.

This girl, she met a friend
Or maybe there were a few.
"Can you please stay here with me?",
She wishes she had the courage to say
To someone other than her reflection.

This girl, she needs something else
To numb the nothingness with which she thought she was done.
"I love you, please don't think I'm strange",
She finally said outside of her head, her voice has grown
From a withered whisper to this barely shaking scream.

This girl, she's more than a few days clean
Still weak, but learning from the bad, good, and in between.
"You're beautiful and worth so much",
She promises to her best friend
She still can't quite get the words across to herself.

You are like an underrated book.
Beautiful inside and out,
You try not to stand out on the shelf
But the best readers
Decide to flip through the pages
They love what they find,
And how could you not?

The vivid adjectives and solid nouns
Are your kind eyes and kinder smile
Your author wrote you
To bring sunshine to sad souls,
To show that there’s beauty in
Well spoken words

You watched my body
A crumpled up shape on your mattress
My eyes
Rivers of untold stories
Stories of death and disease and decay
You watched as I built walls
To hide these feelings
That should never show
I am supposed to be a rock
A sturdy leaning place
For anyone who needs me
I am not supposed to crumble
I am not supposed to fall
But you were let in
You listened
You let me cry
You let me be a crumpled shape on your mattress
You loved me at my worst

My grandma sits shaking in her
Rocking chair, rocking.
Ten minutes ago, she got news that her mother died.
She had seen her earlier that day.

Sometimes things that you can't control
Are the absolute worst. Very rarely are they great.
Sometimes I wish I could take the wishes
From children with their shiny pennies.

Sometimes people cry over loss
And tears just need to fall in episodes of
Trembling, and shaking bones.
Because sometimes being strong is not enough.

Sometimes the rockers on chairs that rock,
They squeak. And maybe it's because
Sometimes those rockers get tired of being strong.
They get tired of being silent.

Sometimes you see things that you
Wish would stop replaying in your head.
Sometimes you hear abstract words
That just never leave the inside of your ears.

Sometimes when people grieve,
They get so wrapped up in who they lose
That sometimes they lose themselves.
My grandmother will not lose herself.

I have always known that
No matter what happens, she will
Always tell me to follow her footsteps and be strong,
I can't imagine being strong if she were gone.

I'm in love
and I'm scared
I'm in love
and I don't know what to do
I'm in love
and the confusion is killing me
I'm in love
I'm in love
I'm in love
****
I'm in love

I would love
To fall asleep with you tonight
Holding your body close to mine
******* your soul
Feeling your warmth
And your chest rise and fall
Underneath my embrace
Laying there silently
With my legs wrapped around yours
Your breathing on my arm
Knowing I get to see
Your beauty
First thing tomorrow