Recalibrate

I still need to learn that I am not the very worst.
That I am not the only one with actions to regret.
That people don't walk by me thinking, She must have been cursed.
That people who don't think this haven't always been misled.

And I still need to learn that I am also not the best.
That "Others are below me" is a thought that's wrong, untrue.
That they are better than me, in ways I've never guessed.
That we have more in common than I ever, ever knew.

Self-care does not mean you should forget to care for others;
Loving others does not mean you do not have to love yourself.
Looking out dark windows, all you see is your own face, and that's 'cause
You're the one who's looking.

Not because there's no one else.

TreePupWriter

VT

16 years old

More by TreePupWriter

  • Hold Music


    Her hands clutch the cell phone and
    fiddle with the corners of the case.
    Feet fidgeting under the desk, stuffed into socks and shiny flats.

    She did not ask her phone to bring her an orchestra,
  • Sunken dime

    I was fearless. Untouchable. Knew who I was. What I wanted.
    “Life is hard”? Yeah, maybe for
    some but
    not for me.
    I had it all figured out.

    There wasn’t much I needed to wish for, but the act of it was fun.