You always have this sort of
Frown on your face
Like you are not quite sure
You’re even supposed
To be here among us.
I know that sometimes the feeling
That nobody wants you around
Becomes so overwhelming
You don’t know what to do
With your hands.
I know sometimes you wish
You could rip apart your skin
Have a look inside you and
Search for a reason why
You feel this empty.
Maybe something is missing,
You think. Maybe
Something is broken.
I know how useless you feel
When you voluntarily isolate
Yourself and nobody notices
And you feel almost guilty for
Being there, for being you.
I know that sometimes you get
The feeling that not being alive
Might not be such a terrible thing.
I know you do.
You’ve always lived like this,
It’s the the only way you know
How to go on living.
You try so hard to make life fit
Your way of doing things.
I know, trust me, l know.
But I hope that one day

You’ll stop believing that you need
Other people’s permission
To be okay with yourself.
That however you do or do not
Align with what other people value
Determines your worth.
That however the world does
Or does not show you kindness
Is a direct reflection
Of how much you deserve it.
I hope that one day you’ll be able
To walk freely in your birth town
Without finding wherever you look
An insult to your face.
That you will understand
That you need to be
Kind to yourself even and
Probably most especially when
It seems you least deserve it.
I hope one day you will realise
That you’re not only a sum of
Your past, your mistakes
And you’re failures.
You’re so much more than that,
There’s something so intrinsically
Unique about you that
Will not go away no matter
How hard you will it to.
I hope one day you’ll be outside
And find that you’re no longer
Pretending to have
A good reason to put
One foot ahead of the other.
I hope that when you say
Over and over that something
Isn’t fair, It won’t be with
A hopeless voice as if you don’t expect
What is not fair to be righted
But that you will have the
Courage to stand up to it
Whatever it may be
Strengthened by the new-found
Belief that you, too, are worth of love.

I hope that one day you will see
That every soul counts,
And that you will allow yours
To conquer everything that
You’ve always been
Meant to find.