I wish I could pawn the silver linings
on the clouds above my head
and buy your happiness.
Like apples at the grocery store
I’d pick only the biggest smiles and the sweetest loves for you.
I want you to know that you deserve the world.
No,
better yet,
the world deserves you.
Know that your hands can do magic,
and that rain doesn't just make plants grow.
It can also wash away hurt
without running up your water bill.
Remember to take the time
to let your thoughts
rest a minute on your lips
appreciate their coolness, their weight.
And never say I love you.
Tell them instead
How it feels like Christmas when they’re close
Independence day when they touch you
and that you are proud of all the red X’s on your calendar
because each mark brings you closer
to the day they come back home.
When it will be Christmas again.
I hope you never regret
the days when your face ends up in the dirt.
When you’re there,
be sure to take a look around you.
To see everything that put down roots
and grew up taller than ever.
For the days when your brain decides to run a marathon
with razor blades strapped to its feet.
Hear this:
You can’t turn a molehill into a mountain
in just one day.
Sometimes you can’t do it alone,
so make sure you bring an extra shovel.
If your heart starts to head toward the door
with it's bags in hand;
if it says
it is leaving for good this time
And never coming back
Hold it closer.
Whisper to it all of the reasons
Why it is beautiful
Why it should stay.
I hope I do right by you
But it is nearly impossible to give
the world to a person who already has
the Universe in their eyes.
I can try to build castles out of metaphors but
I know you have always liked the ocean more.
So I will put this message in a bottle,
throw it into the sea,
and hope that one day it reaches you
And you smile.