Growing up
means realizing
that sometimes
you hurt others
unintentionally
in an attempt
to save yourself
from that first

anger should shoot out
but instead kindness drips
from my eyes onto
the palms of your hands

and so I caress the pain instead
as I push it to the corner
with the rest of emotions
that have gone unattended to.

Look at you, discovering yourself for what feels like the first time. There you were, sitting in the backyard with a book you never had the chance to read, learning the hard way that you should apply sunscreen more evenly next time. Look at you, greeting your lover and welcoming new feelings everyday with open arms. Look at you, experimenting with colours other than the three shades of black you've always known and being brave enough to wear pink on your toes. Look at you, turning a bad memory into a much better one, you deserve that crown, queen. Look at you, taking matters into control

I have come to realize that the hardest thing
to do is not picking out an option from two that
are very similar in nature, but rather putting myself first.

how can you love someone
and trust in them,
when you only carry love
for anyone but for yourself,
because you don't trust
in you,
and you can't love you.

I gave something to you
that belonged to me,
but most importantly
I gave something to you
that I should have wanted for me.

I hope that when you make a list of all of your favourite things, I’m somewhere on the top of your list.