I really want to say
I hope you're okay.

I see something on your face, a familiar grimace.
I want to tell you, I suffer from mental illness.
And all too well, I can recognize your pain;
I too, have struggled under the overpowering strain;
The suffering caused by a malfunctioning brain.

I see how you've started to avoid and withdraw.
I see enormous stress in the tightness of your jaw.
I see you grasping, desperate for some alleviation,
from this curse of complete anguish and frustration.
I see you like this not because I wish to pry.
In you, I see myself. Allow me to clarify.

I have been where you are, totally lost and alone.
Hiding from friends and family, ignoring my phone.
There were many times I felt held together only by thread.
Eventually I decided that my only option was to be dead.
But there were no lights at the end of any tunnels.
The attempt failed, and I continued my struggles.

Then someone reached out a hand for me,
offering somewhere safe for me to be.
Longing for relief, feeling defeated, I said yes.
And looking at me now, you would never guess,
the darkness that dwelled deep in my head.
Today I'm better, and quite glad I'm not dead.

So, I'm here, should you ever want to talk.
Please, feel free, tell me to go take a walk.

But I swear, my intentions are honest and kind.
I want to help you take back control of your mind.
This is just a hand held out, from me to you.
I urge you to take it, and I'll help you through.

Peer to peer, I'm offering you solace.
If ever you need me, I'll be there, I promise.

Occasionally I come across a person with brown eyes,
and I compliment them on those peepers.

More often than not, they laugh and say,
"Oh, they're just brown."
Or
"They're **** colored."
Or
"I wish I had blue/green/hazel eyes."

I want to grab them by the shoulders,
pull them close to me,
look into those eyes and say,
"Your eyes are alluring, deep, and warm."

Eyes the color of delicious coffee,
of which I want to gulp every last drop.
Eyes the color of ancient leather,
the binding of the best books.
Eyes the color of the soft soil,
from which everything good grows.

I say,
"Love your eyes, it's how the rest of us see into your soul."

Brown eyes are my favorite eyes.
Brown eyes make me feel like I am home.

When you’re breaking
You have this look in your eye
Of betrayal
Knowing life brought your hopes up
Just to drive you to the ground
And your heart broke into a thousand more pieces.

When you’re breaking
I can see it in your smile
That strong mask you go back to
When you can’t deal with
The weight of the world
on your shoulders.

When you’re breaking
Your mind goes back to default
Telling you you’re alone
And that you have to be alone
Because that’s how you were raised

When you’re breaking
I’m breaking too
I tell you you don’t have to
Go through it alone
I’d walk with you through hell

When you’re breaking
You don’t see how much people care
How much love is there for you
If you only opened your heart
And let me put your pieces back together

We are but so young
We could chase down the world
Yet the past that haunts us
Weighs down on our shoulders
We cry and we scream
Nobody hearing a thing
Stuck in the abyss
Of what could’ve been
Cause I was a fool
And shouldn’t have let you go
They say our first love
Always hurts the worse
The scars you left me
I can’t wash away
I lost you once
Then twice and again
Living our own lives
But if you ask
I’m not ready to lose you again
I never will be
Because we’re still too young
You’re supposed to chase the world
Not lay around waiting
For your world to end
I’ll never be ready
Come next year or one after
To never be with you
Ever again