Robert M.Drake

I can’t recognize myself

lately;

I’m someone I used to know.

I think you took me with you

and I was hoping you could

just leave me somewhere else,

because I’ve been waiting

for myself,

waiting for all the pieces

to come home.

Love

what loves you,

but never

hate

what hates you.

For hate is

the burden

to exhaust

the

stars in you.

We take pictures with people

so they could remember us

and leave memories behind

so they don’t forget us.

And the difference

between the two are the same.

We leave these moments

in the air,

hoping that somewhere

someone will find them

and make sense of everything

we chose to ignore

How are we

supposed to love

one another

when we barely love

ourselves.

We are so much

better than

what they want

us to be

Too often

we feel

like we don’t know

how to live,

and too often

someone will tell you how;

without them

even knowing

how to live

for themselves

People are all the same

but you and I,

we’re not like them.

So to say that we’ll both stay

isn’t you and it isn’t me

either.

We’re tragically drawn

to one another

and eventually we’ll fall apart.

So let’s enjoy

whatever it is that we have,

because when we’re done,

I wouldn’t know what else

to give you

other than just another story.

And that alone might be

the most beautiful thing

we’ll ever live to tell

I was born

the moment

I fell in love

with the world,

because I knew

somewhere,

someone like you

existed in it

If there is something

you must know

before I let you go;

it is this:

in your journey

you will meet

broken people,

hateful people

and people

who have lost the sight

for their glory.

And the beauty

of it all is this:

I will tell you

to love them,

to love them deeply

and show them

how some of us

still care.

Never give up on them,

for to give up on them

is to destroy

a reflection

of ourselves

It must be madness

the way we let

things devour us,

the way we let

the things we want out

back in.

And the horror of it all

is this:

we stay attracted

to everything that hurts.

We cling to it

and never really learn

to let go.

So perhaps,

we do want happiness,

but we also desire to keep

the pain close.

Close enough to destroy us,

close enough to define us

and close enough

to make us feel

a little less cold

It took me years

to understand

that the more

I tried to settle her flames

the bigger her fire grew.

And the more I tried

to control her;

the further I pushed her

away.

And when she was finally

gone,

she left nothing behind.

And for some reason

I still thought of her;

I still hoped

that maybe somewhere,

someone has found her

and has finally

learned

how to set her heart

free