and the Truth is sometimes like
your First kiss
or your Last
the Truth is sometimes a
Knife in hand
or in the back

either way speaking the
Truth is like spitting out a mouthful of rocks
you’ve been holding for 27 years

the Hope is that your Truth crushes
whoever it is that needs to be crushed
for there are those who’d rather you
have a mouth full of boulders
than a community full of hearts

the hope is that your Truth lifts
whoever it is that needs to be lifted
for there are those buried under
hate/ignorance/intolerance/miseducation/dishonesty/depression/selfishness/violence/
loss/youcantdoit/youllnevermakeit/noonecares/youcantchangethis

who need to breathe life
(so poets:
release your words so they may become

the hearts
on
your
sleeves
&
the stars
in
the
sky)