every person you meet is an endangered species.
don't put them in a cage to look at them,
but love them because there is no one else similar

last year,
you fell in love with a boy
that only wanted your virginity
and you gave it to him on a silver platter
so you could remember what love feels like
but babygirl,
it's not love
if he only loves you for what's between your legs
it's not love
if the only thing he compliments you on
is the way your hips are formed
it's not love
if every time you said no
he ignored it

that boy is not your lungs
you can breathe without him,
i promise
he is not your atlas
never let someone
that doesn't care about the way
your continents took form
hold your world on their shoulders
*because when they crumble,
you will too

for the days you feel whole:
you are still broken
for the days you feel broken:
you have the ability to be whole

tell me you remember
the day you let me wear your jacket
tell me you remember
the day we drove to where the sun touches the earth
tell me you remember
the day you held my hand for the first time
tell me you remember
because i could never forget

how do you tell someone
no amount of telling me to love myself
will make me find myself beautiful
and how do you tell someone  
getting out of bed in the morning
feels like trying to swim with
stones tied to your ankles
and how do you tell someone
trying makes it worse
and how do you tell someone
everyday is a struggle,
and ode to the man hanging on a cliff with one hand

*a boy that still had someone to confide in
dared to tell me,
"don't bottle up your emotions"
so i looked him in the eyes
as i bought a bigger bottle

loving you was the
most beautiful form of
self-destruction.