sometimes it's hard to live

do you ever have trouble remembering why

you should b r e a t h e ?

do you ever fight to take a breath

because your   h e a r t  keeps asking is it really worth it?

do you choke over a response

when someone asks "how are you?"

and get so caught up in the lie of

i ' m  f i n e


that you forget to ask them back?



sometimes... its hard to live


its hard to remember what makes life


w o r t h   i t .



i'm here to tell you,

that lie that everyone tells you

to get you to calm down

at least, it feels like a lie

like a promise that no one can keep

like opening your lungs to breathe under water 

only to find that 

there was no air to breathe 

its gonna be okay 

because i know it feels bleak

God, I know it feels like you're never going to get out 

of this pit of darkness

i know it feels like your life isn't worth it anymore 

but please. please.  s t a y  

you will never be able to return 

if you turn your back 

on life now 

waves come and then go 

rain clouds dry of rain 

you will wash up on shore 

coughing up water

gasping for breath

you will be exhausted 

you will be soaked through 

and dirty 

and cold

you will never be the same.

but you will be alive. 

the storm will pass,

and as you cough out salt water from your lungs, 

and as you suck in breaths of the cold morning air 

remember 

that you were worth fighting for 

that every second of pain 

built up to this moment 

when you would be free 

and you would feel wind in your hair and the sun on your skin and the grass under your feet 

and know 

that you did it 

you made it 

you won the war for your life 

the darkness did not 

i know it feels like 

you're losing the battle

right now,

and i know 

its hard to exist sometimes

so don't make it complicated

don't worry if you can't do everything

you want to do

for now, breathe

allow yourself

to just

b r e a t h e