Liars

When people tell you who they are,

That is a lie. 

People are liars, 

Mostly to themselves. 

They tell you not who they are, 

But who they choose to be. 

They do not realize that 

They have the power to be 

Better, stronger, kinder

And fuller than they are. 

A person is not good or bad 

But a combination of

Their best and worst, 

Their ugly and their beauty, 

Their clever and their conniving, 

Their fear and their resilience. 

We lie when we shake hands and say 

'This is all I will ever be.' 

You can rearrange the stars 

If you reach far enough 

To grasp them in your hands 

And pull them into your orbit.

Live life with fingers outstretched 

For someone new to hold. 

Show them how much 

More the world can offer.

You

You are not stupid

Because you were told you were

By those who did not care

To know you. 

You are not unlovable 

Because you have been left 

Once, twice, a thousand times 

By someone who you trusted. 

You are not weak 

Because your heart has been trampled 

And laid out to dry

Wrung out on a wire 

Squeezed half to death. 

I could take your hand 

And lead you through 

A gallery of you and your triumphs, 

Your failures, your in-betweens 

And prove that you 

Are someone worth seeing. 

The wind could whistle in your ears

And sing you poetry 

As the sky would hew in two 

So the universe could unfold 

To look at you 

In all your ordinary extraordinary. 

Sonnets could be composed, 

Symphonies played, 

Books written all about 

The splendor of you, 

A seasoned survivor. 

For so long, you have tolerated 

Scorn and judgement 

Laughter and resentment 

The denial of happiness

And basic understanding. 

If I were omniscient, I would 

Unfurl glossy wings and fly us off

Away from gravity, where the air is thinner 

But easier to breathe.

I wish I could tell you 

How to get by. 

All I can say is that 

It does get better, 

And so do you.