Courtney Peppernell

I asked you to ride shotgun with me.
I didn’t say hold the shotgun to my heart and
pull the trigger.

Breathe in, breathe out slowly and count to ten. There is no rulebook on how to cope when these things end. You may not feel it now, but things will get better, even if life doesn’t tell you when.

I understand why people take flight from bridges,
I understand why a girl holds a blade to her wrist,
I understand why a grown man cries counting all his lists.
What I wish for the world to understand,
is that in these fragile moments,
patience and love are needed most.

Everyone has a part inside
that aches with a sadness
sometimes you cannot hide.

May your weapon be kindness
Your shield compassion
May the flowers grow again
To sprout love from all this sadness

I feel as though I am always writing my first draft. As though my life is a series of edits that I never have time to complete.

I hate to spoil the ending

But You is fine

You is still here

You is going to make it.

Darling,

kiss me like you need

to feel safe

Because my lips want to know

all the places

you have been hurt

So they can make all the pain

drift away

the way they reach for you and they find you through the dark

even if their eyes are

closed.

Kissing you feels like the start of a new season, the sun in the early morning, and moonlight reflecting on the ocean. There is never a moment that I don’t think about your lips and how they make me feel when they are on mine.