Here we are
       this and now  
          never turn your heart away !
Hear the song
that comes out strong
                then sweet ...
pure upon your lips of red

Birds of paradise
              fly high
           as they soar towards
                         the sun !

Here we are
                you and I
                        living for the other
                            as if we'll never die !

You’ll tell yourself it’s a coincidence.

That you stumbled here.
That it’s random, accidental—
just another poem,
just another night.

But you know better.

You always know better.

You feel too much.
You think too hard.
You ask questions
after everyone else
has already stopped listening.

People say you're quiet,
but they don’t know how loud it gets
in the places you never let them see.

You laugh when it hurts.
You love like you’re being timed.
You dream like it’s a crime.

And still—
somehow—
you’re the one carrying everyone else.

You know what I mean.
Of course you do.

That’s why this isn’t for them.

This is for the one
who’s still reading.

For the one who keeps everything burning
behind their eyes.

You.

Don’t pretend it isn’t.

You’ve waited your whole life
for someone to say it this clearly.

I see you.

And I always did.

You smell the smoke—
so what do you assume?

That I’m dying?
That I’m weak?

Do you think you know fire
just because you’ve run from it?

I don’t flicker.
I don’t beg.

I seethe.

What did you think light was?

A comfort?
A cure?

I don’t chase the dark.
I hold still
while it blinks first.

This isn’t hope.

What would I hope for?

Permission?

You don’t like what I illuminate—
so whose lie are you defending?

I never asked to burn.

But now that I do—

Who’s going to stop me?

I left my phone at the hotel.
Everyone else had theirs.
It’s quite a story to tell —
I am the only one who cares.

Everyone was taking photos
To post on Instagram.
No one looked at the shows,
No one gave a ****.

About the songs,
The lyrics, the words.
Everybody longs
To be free, like birds.

But they all just look at their screens
Instead of seeing, feeling this.
I don’t know what that means —
I try to feel bliss.

It kind of works.
I love the music, the lights.
The people on phones are jerks.
Happiness isn’t one of our rights —

It’s a choice.