Oh, child
you look so disheartened
your hair in knots and eyes full of dreams unrealized
all the space in your head is burning kindling, all smoke and sadness, all rooms occupied

Be like water
which is a key to life, free and fulfilling
never breaking, ever-bending, the ashes you clean from your nails
when you stand again and face the world, knowing your will is never ending

All people are an ocean unto themselves
their depths and intensity as severe
every bit as full of life, ever flowing
and they break off into rivers and streams and falls
which change the land forever, often never knowing
that no one is so dark, so shallow and alone

I want to drown beneath the surface of a human
and love them for what they are, imperfect and dishonest
teeming with faults and bubbles
but I am a troubled wave, crashing and rolling
content to wander the vastness at best
while passing all these glimpses into my own sinking abyss
I follow a star and hope it's enough to lead the weary to rest
oh, child you would have such a different life than this.