take long showers and
try your hardest to scrub your skin,
until your pores are red,
so you can wipe away all of the fingerprints
that they left on you.

repeat their name over and over,
unit it becomes foreign and distorted,
so even your tongue can get tired of them.

listen to the loudest music and
put the volume up all of the way
until you can no longer hear anyone or anything,
so the sound of their voice will stop calling you
in the night.

immediately grow less fond of yourself,
rather than the person, because you finally realize
that it is impossible to forget someone
who has tattooed their name on the tip of your tongue
and carved their name into the front of your wrists.

Poet: be gentle with yourself
never compare yourself to the coffee house across the street
the one that looks so lonely and wise with it’s brewing tales
and tea leaves
do not forget that you are a magician’s tarot cards, fate
holders and dream menders and plot twisters
poet: be gentle with yourself
you are a small wind hiding from the storm
but trust me your calm will come
remember that you are made of the stars and the universe
and that every atom inside of you is alive just like how
your words are
poet: be gentle with yourself
I know how it feels to hold back from writing
because you depreciate your own self worth
but trust me
the sun shines every day
just to catch a glimpse of you
and the moon cherishes your
fluttering eyelids the way I
cherish you.