if i could point to anything
i’d want to tell my past self,
some advice to guide that dumb kid
through this thicket of thorns,
your love is bigger than you believe
and that is not a weakness
and it sure as hell ain’t a fault,
you will love and hurt and
the scratches and tears may
bloody and bruise your skin
but you will be surprised at how
softly and gently your heart can heal,
how it’ll open like sunlight
how it’ll sound like your mother’s
quiet at first then wholly
and beautifully and definitely not
i will grab him by the shoulders
you snore like your father
but he never stopped loving
you will resolve this tension,
you can take the best parts of him and carry them in you
without fear of poisoning the rest,
that someday you will find words
and you will find your truth
and you will find that your truth changes
and so the words must change too.
but don’t you dare lose to fear,
don’t you dare stop fighting,
don’t you dare stop loving.