I was taught that the color of the sun is yellow
and that the sky is vast and blue,
and the ocean is just as the same,
and that the stars are a billion years old,
and that trees are green with brown roots,
and that flowers have a different name and scent,
but what they never taught me was how to love
and to receive love in return,
and that I am fighting my own battles
and that my eyes would have to learn to
adjust to the darkness when I feel like
things are weighing me down,
and they’ve never taught me most of all,
that things are going to hurt,
but they taught me that
birds will still sing,
and that the sun will still rise,
and set the next day,
and that the air will still spiral
in the atmosphere I breathe in,
and that every morning
is a different feeling
even if I feel empty or nothing.
They’ve taught me that
the seasons will always change,
but they never taught me that
people change
and time is ticking,
and all the pressure weighs
one day,
and they never taught me to
build bridges,
but rather only to burn them
and build walls,
which makes me a coward.
They’ve taught me that
people suffer,
and some suffer more
tremendously than others,
but they don’t teach me to be kind
and act upon the way society would.
They’ve taught me that
someday,
everything and everyone
dies,
and the only thing we can do
is move on,
but how can we,
when they teach us all the
optimistic of life,
rather than the reality of it?
I was taught the language
of being optimistic,
but growing up,
and thus my kindness
became my attribute
to every person
I’ve ever encountered.
