Change comes from within,
so they say,
and I still wonder
who they
are
anyway.
They’re the ones who whisper
you can’t do that,
you’ll never be enough,
you’re too short, too tall, too something, too nothing,
and when you lift your eyes in protest
they laugh and say you’re dreaming too loud.
Who made them the judges
of anything
anyway.
They don’t hold their failures close,
don’t carry their own broken pieces,
but set them on your shoulders
like heavy stone,
hoping the weight will bend your spine
instead of theirs.
Their shame becomes your burden,
their weakness becomes yours to bear,
and you learn to slip away before they see you breathe,
because even that
feels judged.
Turn from them,
as you were always meant to,
because your life’s yours to live
and your choices are yours to stand in.
Own your mistakes,
let your heart grow lighter,
take in the small joys this short life gives,
and don’t give up the fight
even when you’re tired of swinging.
I’ve carried my shape too long,
and the shame wrapped around it,
but I’m learning to lay both down.
I’m trying to change my stars,
trying to grow into something steadier,
something stronger,
something that makes a man out of me.
I want a simple kind of happiness,
a love that steadies me,
a reason to believe in everything
I used to dream.
When I dream
I really dream,
and sometimes
I try to let it rest.
It’ll happen when it’s meant to,
not because you forced it,
but because time finally opened a door
you were always meant to walk through.
The day will be short,
the moment small,
but the pair you become
will feel like an epic story
written long before you arrived.
Dance dance dance,
dream dream dream,
and don’t forget your ice cream.
Let laughter find space in you,
let joy have room to grow,
and believe you’re worthy
of a world without strife.