t h a n k / y o u

mom.

i know we aren’t in the best place

right now

and i know

the love gets lost in the yelling and tears

but when you come back

(because you always come back)

you apologize

because i’m too subborn to.

and because this time, words get lost in the regret,

i wrap my arms around you

and we stay like that

for a while.

dad.

we dance around those heavy pieces of glass

like how i cut myself

like how i wish to disappear

like how i stare at the knife

but when i came to you that night,

skin bleeding

mind screaming,

you wrapped my wrist in soft bandages

and read me pages from my favorite book

until my mind was calm once again.

him.

your presence

brings more

warmth

than i can bring myself right now

and for that,

i kiss you

with not just my lips

but also my heart

because the happiness

you have brought me

for 3 years

cannot be diminished to letters.

home.

you are the stable constant

the dependable structure

to come back to

every night

of the unpredictable days

of brief happiness

or blinding agony.

always, you are here.

the bed is awaiting

the ice cream is calling.

you are the safest place i know.

books.

where to start?

how to express the gratitude

i have for these

pages of ink

that i have devoured my entire life?

worlds of magic

times told backwards

life once lived

and lived once again.

inked pages have it all.

when life fails to be enough

when life decides to be too much,

there will always be a book

waiting to be read.