i’m teaching myself to be soft again soft like a feather soft like the lashes that lay on your cheeks my heart has been heavy for so long like an anchor, keeping me grounded i want to fly again, to feel free free like a feather is free to float on the edge of the storm instead of drowning in it i want my children to know that it’s easier to become hard in a world like this one when it’s cruel, when you’re alone to build steel gates around your heart to keep yourself hidden away until all you see is dark and forget about the light remaining soft is so much braver to watch my daughter cry over the death of a caterpillar and cry with her to watch my son laugh as the whole world stares at him whispers and points, because all they see is his disability and laugh with him i’m teaching myself to be soft again to love deeply.. to break easily.. because it’s better to feel everything all at once than nothing at all.














