For Jared (Free Verse)

Don’t you dare let anyone tell you you’re not good enough. And even if they don’t say it, don’t let them let you feel it. Because you are better than any ocean Washed up on the sandy beaches that is their day to day life. You are the sunshine that none of us are really good enough to have. You are the anchor, and without you I’d have been lost to the tsunami That is life, to the monsoon that is being second best To the horrific darkness that comes with thinking “Nobody fucking gets it.” But you do. And I do. And we can get it together. And I’ll fill buckets with your pain, Just like rainwater and sand. And I’ll build the biggest sandcastle, and I will guard it with my life. Because you matter. And you’re special, whether or not you believe it yourself. Don’t you dare let anybody tell you otherwise. Do not settle for being “mediocre” When you can be extraordinary Like I know you are. And I will hoist your pain up on my shoulders, And carry it like Atlas. I will never shrug, for trust is a thing too easily broken. I will never be indifferent to what you feel. Because if you feel it, I want to feel it, too. I want to hoist you up into the sky, onto the highest cloud With the brightest lining. I will never let you fall. And when the clouds start to blacken, Because let’s face it, it isn’t always sunny, I will keep your head above the water, telling you the entire time, “You’re not alone.”