That glow

you are not a bad person

but there were some things that

broke you. and sometimes a broken

spirit does things that even they,

themselves do not quite understand.

like hurt the ones they love the most.

like build walls. like pretend that

they do not care when inside they

are quietly weeping. i know.

you have seen the depths of some

terrible places. things that took

every ounce of peace from your body

and sacrificed it at the altar of

survival. but you have known soft 

breezes too. the ones that whispered

their silences into nape of your

neck and told you not let go.

there is still breath in your lungs

and a fire that’s burning. hold on

to that glow. hold on.

Always About You

You’re going to realize it one

day- that happiness was never about

your job, or your degree, or being in 

a relationship. Happiness was never

about being like the others.

One day, you’re going to see it- that

happiness was always about the

discovery, the hope, the listening to your 

heart and following it wherever

it chose to go. Happiness was always

about being kinder to yourself, it was

always about embracing the person

you were becoming. One day, you

will understand. That happiness was

always about learning how to live

with yourself, that happiness was never 

in the hands of other people.

It was always about you. It was 

always about you.

Forgotten

I guess you could call me broken,

says one. I’m still lonely, says another,

but now I can name it with a song.

In my poem, says another,

I can forget I am forgotten. Now

I understand being misunderstood,

says another. And another says,

in a bold, undeniable voice of power,

I won’t step down from myself again.

And they are beautiful, beautiful,

standing one by one at the mic

where they have come forth at last

from behind the curtain.