When I was small,

the sky was a storybook—

every page dotted with stars

too many to count,

each one whispering my name.

But now the nights glow

with lights that never sleep.

Streetlamps, signs, windows—

they push the darkness back

until the stars have nowhere left to shine.

I look up anyway,

searching for the constellations

I used to trace with my fingertips.

Maybe they’re still there—

quiet, patient, waiting for us

to remember to turn the lights off

and look for them again.

Life is

meant to be lived

Fully and completely.

You need to commit.

Fully.

You aren’t meant to dip one toe in from the edge

You’re meant to dive in 

with no hesitation

no “what ifs”.

The people who do that

are the ones who make every day

thrilling.

Who care so much

with their whole heart

about life and those who live it

that they are willing to 

risk their whole heart

to make yours a little lighter.

These are the people you can count on

to send you a hug

wrapped up in little glitters of their love 

any time you need it.

You might not even notice

when they lift the weight,

but the next time you turn inwards to confront it

it will be missing.

These are the people

who together

find a way to share their immense love for the world

with everyone.

past the burning day,

at bedtime when I shrug off sleep,

When I've got school the next morning, and I shouldn't be here,

I sit down and press play, and the noise starts, and the colors fly up around me, and cities erect and destroy themselves as the songs start and end.

I fall in.

I fall in deep.