the blank page

Sometimes she seemed like a woman without skin. She felt everything so intensely, had so little capacity to filter out pain that everyday events often seemed unbearable to her. Paradoxically it is also that skinlessness which makes a poet. One must have the gift of language, of course, but even a great gift is useless without the other curse: the eyes that see so sharply they often want to close. Her eyes were astoundingly blue and astoundingly sharp. Nothing escaped her. She saw everything, and since most of what there is to see in the world is painful, she often lived in pain.

1. if you don’t like your name don’t use it 2. scream at the sky, whisper secrets to the ocean, hold hands with clouds. the world is yours if you want it to be 3. do things that make you nervous and let the feeling consume you until you feel scared and alive and want to throw up 4. don’t worry about falling in love 5. pick flowers whenever you see them and leave them wherever you go 6. kiss all the things that make you happy and all the things that make you sad, kiss everything that makes you feel anything 7. weave stars into your clothes and always remember that you came from them and will go back to them again someday 8. never empty your pockets 9. light dead flowers on fire when you’re feeling sad, let their smell fill your lungs and make you forget about life 10. diet coca cola will make your head spin and your throat burn, drink it when you’re feeling like things are going to get bad 11. if a boy with pretty eyes asks you who you are, show him your scars and your freckles and your bruises and let him know that you are alive 12. the best people have electricity running through their veins and around their hearts, let them shock you 13. forget how old you are, it does not matter 14. if something or someone makes you want to run then do it, run until your legs go numb and your heart is about to explode and you forget how to breathe 15. when the world is asleep make the night your friend and you will become invincible 16. get lost in another city and don’t ask for directions 17. cry if you want to, but try not to drown in your tears 18. do not be afraid of the sight of blood or the sound of bones snapping or the smell of hospital beds 19. race the moon while you’re driving until you’re going faster than the speed of light 20. never sit still