L. E. Bowman

I am learning how to share.
How to get lost
without losing myself.
How to give
without giving myself away.

Georgy

I can hold my own hand, so I'll need a little more than that;
I need respect, loyalty, honesty, support, and truthful love.

Zu manchen Menschen
muss man nichts (mehr) sagen.
Die kann man einfach
so stehen lassen.

"please, let him be happy" by j.p.

Please, let him be soft.

I know you made him
     with gunmetal bones
     and wolf’s teeth.
I know you made him to be
     a warrior
     a soldier
     a hero.

But even gunmetal can warp
and even wolf’s teeth can dull
and I do not want to see him break
the way old and worn and overused things do.

I do not want to see him go up in flames
     the way all heroes end up martyrs.

I know that you will tell me
that the world needs him.
The world needs his heart
     and his faith
     and his courage
     and his strength
     and his bones and his teeth and his blood and his voice and his–
The world needs anything he will give them.

Damn the world,
     and damn you too.
Damn anyone that ever asked anything of him,
     damn anyone that ever took anything from him,
           damn anyone that ever prayed to his name.
You know that he will give them everything
     until there is nothing left of him
         but the imprint of dust
              where his feet once trod.
You know that he will bear the world like Atlas
    until his shoulders collapse
         and his knees buckle
              and he is crushed by all he used to carry.

Dear God,
you have already made an Atlas.
You have already made an Achilles and an Icarus and a Hercules.
You have already made a sacrificial lamb of your Son.
You have already made so many heroes,
and you can make another again.
You can have your pick of heroes.

So please, I beg you–
he is all that I have,
and you have so many heroes
and the world has so many more.
Let him be soft,
and let him be mine.


(found on tumblr)

John Mayer

If you're pretty, you're pretty; but
the only way to be beautiful is to
be loving. Otherwise, it's just
"congratulations about your face."

elle.poetry

Who I am
and who I'm not
is mine and mine alone.
Your breath
does not fill these lungs.
Your blood
does not swim in these veins.
So
your opinion
does not choose this path.

"Luftbahn" von Deichkind

"Dollar Bill" by Avery Wilson

I caught myself running away from who I really was
For you
[...]
'Cause the way things start ain't never how they end
But it’s too late for that 'cause I gave you all I had
One thing that I know
Is that love ain't for show
And you gotta make it work 'til it don't
But if you won't
Then I'd rather be single as a dollar bill, alone

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ABy3TfsTyg)

Pissnelken blühen ganzjährig.

Stephanie Bennett-Henry

I never wanted to look at the sky,
I wanted to pull the whole goddamn universe
down to its knees and make it
prove itself to me.

"Strange Stories Of The Afterlife" by Im Cheol Woo

My poor children. Sadness is your strength.
Suffering, resentment and regrets
are your strengths.
With those strengths, somehow survive
the ugly and scary life.

stacie.martin

The truth is
some days I sink,
more than I swim.

"You Dont Have To Be In A Relationship To Feel Whole Again" by Raquel Alderete

Can I tell you a secret?

You don't have to be in a relationship.

I mean it. I know they force it down your throat until you choke on it. Girls aren't pretty unless they're wanted. Boys aren't men unless they're having sex with someone. People aren't lovable until they're dating each other.

Can I tell you another secret?

A relationship won't always make you happy.

As wonderful as romance is — it isn't the only love that exists. It is not the answer to everything. I constantly hear the words “nobody loves me” escape from the mouths of people who are single. It always hurts me because if you ask them: “Where are your parents, your teachers, your classmates, your pets; they love you, do they not?”— they say, yes, okay, but it doesn't count. Why doesn't it count? Of course it counts. Love doesn't diminish just because someone doesn't want to have sex with you. In fact, it makes that love more real. It makes it into something that surges beyond physical attraction and surface level companionship. It makes it unique.

Listen, I get it. It is pretty to be in love. It's magical, I'm sure. However, it's also wonderful to stop for ice cream in your prom dress with six other girls. It's also wonderful to go visit the world with nothing but a bunch of buddies who are really excited about learning.

Stop trying to find “the one” as a means of filling the gaps within your heart. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe “the one” is just you — loving yourself, having fun, and being happy beyond measure? Maybe instead of looking for our other halves, we should be piecing ourselves together.

Maybe I wasn't born unfinished. Maybe I am the one who makes myself better.