they lie to you
when they say
you have to love yourself
before you can be loved
by others

you are worthy
of love
even if
clouds
obscure your view,
& even when
demons
tell you otherwise

hello poetry is quite inactive lately. where are all my fellow poets gone?

you are lovely
lovely for struggling
against a world who hates you
lovely for fighting
even when you're on your knees
lovely for walking a dark path
even though it costs your innocence
lovely for enduring
the cruel whips of your self-hatred
for you know no enemy
as wicked as yourself
but you are lovely
a glowing blue haze of victory
for you crawled all this way
through black ashen rain
through rampants of pursuers
through torrid heat and anger
to see the light and now
you can bask in the sun

you are lovely for enduring.

i don't
wake up
when my eyes
open
i haven't
been awake
for some time
now