today

spread out your arms and take a breath

look up to the sun or the clouds

or the stars

and breathe them down in

and tell them how you've missed them so

and tell them how it hurt

they will soothe the pain

and reciprocate the words

today

go out and give paper stars to a stranger

the trees will bless this kindness

and you might give someone a reason

to wake up and hold on one more day

for how could you hate the world

when you could hold it in your hands

and fill it with love instead?

Tomorrow

do not wait for the sky to be kind

step into it anyway
with your hands still trembling
from everything you carried through the night

there will be days
when the sun forgets your name
when the clouds press low
like questions you cannot answer

still
walk

let your breath be uneven
let your heart speak in fragments
there is no rule that says
healing must sound like music

and if the stars feel distant

borrow their patience

they have always burned
without asking to be seen

tomorrow

leave a door open behind you

not for the past to return
but for the person you were
to know they made it somewhere softer

and if you find another stranger

with tired eyes and quiet hands

sit beside them

you do not need paper stars this time

just stay

long enough

for both of you
to remember

the world is still turning

and it has not given up on you yet