We weigh the ways of the woes

We woo the ways of the whys

We woo the wise with their ways

Why wait?

Please god
don’t let my heart
become unkind
A soul in black
can absorb
the light
But I’m afraid
to tire out
from giving out
and not getting back
To confuse the black
as all forgotten
If I could wear it black
and still be kind
Don’t let it be
my wish
to harden
For the sake
of my self-
protection
If I could find
the room
in the absence
Don’t let my heart
become unkind
And let your greatest gift
become my lesson
of how
the darkness
absorbs
all light

We learn to make
better friends
with bigger numbers
and less time
It is now
that we
understand
the magic
of the seasons
when they
click
and change
And like the berries
that one day
get picked
no one can steal
the spring
that turned us
beautiful
ripe
and red

Fat.
The word falls from your lips
like venom.
I know your throat burns every time
you say it.
I see the tears you try to brush off.
Fat.
Because what could be worse, right?
You could be mean,
or selfish,
or violent.
But no, you had to be
Fat.
If only you knew the years I've spent
learning to love every single inch of me,
teaching myself that "fat" is not a
curse word.
Years spent undoing long nights
that I've stayed awake,
sobbing,
praying to every god I knew
that I could wake up and be
skinny.
You tell me I am beautiful.
You promise me
that you have eyes for
no one else.
But I know your eyes lust for
thin.

I am not the hatred in your eyes
but the gaze of understanding
I am not the back you turn on me
but the embrace of compassion
I am not the rejection in your tone
but the gentle voice of acceptance
I am not the wounding of your words
but the bandages to heal them
I am not your prison of unworthiness
but the freedom in belonging
I am not the poverty in your jealousy
but the abundance of admiration
I am not the blindness of your limiting fears
but the insight into your infinite love