1. forever is not a promise, it is a choice.
2. it never stops hurting.
3. his smile may feel like home, but if his eyes look through you; he is not your home.
4. find the goodness in each day.
5. your body is a temple. life is about learning to worship your own self.
6. make a list of kind acts you witness, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant. this list could save you.
7. do not let your fear control you.
8. you are not your mistakes or your pain.
9. depression is a mental illness, something you cannot help.
10. emptiness is a mindset.
11. you are loved.
12. you have the right to feel things that are not exactly good.
13. your worth is immeasurable.
14. you are not a burden to the people who truly love you.
15. there is always hope.
16. productivity is a form of happiness.
17. protect your heart, but do not hide it.
18. everyone deserves to be loved, you are one of those people. embrace that.
19. go the extra mile, it builds self-esteem.
20. people think differently than you. not everyone has other people's interests at heart.
21. always do what makes YOU happy.
22. do not give up on something that you want.
23. it pays to be kind, eventually.

dear inamorato,
lightning strikes in my heart for you. our love is electric; a love so powerful that it could be the end of everything. because of this, we must be apart. the spark between us would have eventually led to fires and floods. we were nothing but destruction epitomized, the manifestation of pain. our love cannot be. although my heart is cool embers without you near, our love could only end in inevitable detriment. pay attention closely, our last storm is approaching. look to the sky, this is my good-bye. our love was cumulonimbus clouds and lightning strikes, i cannot forget and neither can you. i hope the sun shines, and you wish for the days when it was nothing but rain. i hope that you can remember this electricity. good-bye, my inamorato. good-bye to everything. can't you see, like a flash of lightning, i had to leave. so promise me that you won't wait around for the next lightning strike, for i am not coming back. our final storm has begun. look to the sky, look to the fading sun.
                                                            ­                                                          love,
 ­                                                                 ­                                 your inamorata

winter
his warm hands touch mine, and i get the feeling that everything will be okay.

spring
his lips lift the melancholy further from my heart each time they touch my own. now, i am sure that everything will be okay.

summer
his breath begins to smell like my father's had when he came home from work at night. my head tells me to run, but my heart holds me in place.

autumn
instead of using his hands to warm mine, he strikes me like a match. i dont light fire, so he tosses me away.

dear friend,
tears may fall from your eyes
and sadness may engulf you,
but it does not make you less of person.
your inability to function most days does not make you pathetic.
if anything, it makes you human.
and although you hope every breath you take is your last, you are still strong.
you are still deserving.
you always will be.
nothing can ever change that.
not the scars you hide or the guilt you carry.
not the sorrow that controls you or the shame you feel.
you are a small part of this vast universe, but a part nonetheless.
just as he or i.
we are equal individuals through all of our faults.
we were sculpted by the same hands and function just the same.
you will be wrong.
you will be hurt.
you will be afraid.
you will be consumed by shame.
you will feel powerful, overwhelming anger.
you will be resented.
you will be disparaged.
you will make mistakes.
you will break down.
you will seek solace.
you will experience greed.
you will have more faults than you can count on your ten fingers.
because you are human,
and you cannot change that.
                                                             with love,
                                                                    (i.s.)

i inhale the frigid air and let it take place in my heart. i exhale, watching my breath in front of me. i let the warmth escape without a fight because i know with all of my heart that the world needs that warmth much more than i do.
i lay my head in the snow and look up at the sky. the stars twinkle, but somehow,
their perpetual light fails to reflect in my eyes. every breath that i inhale feels like i am swallowing more and more of the earth's darkness. i want it to stop, i don't want to suffer for these people anymore. i close my mouth, i pinch my nose. it would be easier if i ceased to breathe. perhaps there is still time to save my organs from being completely stained by their sin. is this the purpose He intended for me?

the words have ceased to flow,
and it feels as though a part of me has been torn away. i hate to ponder over my inability to express myself because it is crippling. the world has ended. inside of me, my little universe has imploded. my words seem to never be good enough anymore. every attempt to sort through my scattered thoughts and to express myself proves futile.
im afraid that i will never be the same again. i  have lost the thing that means the most to me. i have lost everything, and i won't ever get it back.

1 AM
your words are violent,
but your lips are sweet
-
2 AM
you ripped my heart
from my chest
-
3 AM
i'm drowning in sorrow
that you caused
-
4 AM
why did i fall
for your sweet lips
-
5 AM
the pain is tearing me
completely apart
-
6 AM
your violent words
slit my wrists
-
7 AM
your sweet lips
kiss my scars
—
and it starts again.