Riots rule the streets,

While revolutions rule the world

To say nothing at all

Is to choose the side of evil

 

Even if you disagree

Words are worse

Than sticks and stones

But worse than that

 

Is silence

Silence means there’s

Nothing to say

Nothing to do

 

And nothing wrong

If silence hugs you

Beware

Because I can assure you

 

He’s holding a knife

Just like the people

Who came before you

And acted like you were okay

 

like the world and everyone in it

is a blade

and you are just

Ceasar

 

“Just be yourself,”

They say

But that’s not

What they mean

 

They mean

Be the you

Everyone knows

You were growing up to be

 

They mean

Be the you

You were

Before any bad times

 

They mean

Be the you

Who loved flowers

And video games

 

They mean

Be the you

You forgot you

Ever were

 

Because honestly

It’s better

Than dealing

With the truth

 

It causes

Confusion

And sad

“Who am I?”s

 

But all they

Care about

Is who

You used to be

 

Be the old you

So we don’t

Have to get to

Know the new

 

They don’t want to learn

Who you’ve grown to be

Because really,

It’s trivial

 

You’ll change again
Sooner or later

Be it name, favorite color

Hobby or what you’ll be when you grow up

 

Sooner or later

Something will change

That you won’t say out loud

You’ll grow a new weakness

 

No one knows about

They’ll find different things

To ignore

And they won’t care

 

Every man has a weakness

Whether it seems noble or not

It could be the harshness of others

Or the pet cat he had for years

 

it could be the girl who heard everyone whisper

as she walked down the hall

because her hair was just a little too short

and her clothes were just a little too baggy

 

or it could be the guy who knew

Everyone was staring

because his hair was just a little too long

and his clothes were just a little too tight

 

and maybe, just maybe... 

 

But for some it’s the thoughts

That won’t seem to go away

The intruders in his brain

That won’t give him a break

 

For others it’s the one

He’d looked for all that time

His one true love

But for this man?

 

His weakness is like no other

For it is his dreams

That haunt him

Nightmares of his past

 

He’d served in the war

But not the one you’d think

With a unique experience

And had never been the same thereafter

 

Unique experiences

That can’t be ignored

That don’t go unchanged

Without all-around mistakes

 

These experiences

Go through the generations

Be it war, genocide, sexism, racism

Issues that plague the world

 

Not to ignore personal issues

Funerals, divorces, breakups

Yelling matches, day and night,

And not all of it involves you

Tell me,

Are you happy?

Do you wake up with a smile

And go to bed the same?

 

Tell me,

Have you seen it all?

Have you heard the unmistakeable sound

Of a door slamming shut at three A.M?

 

That was years ago,

Let it go

Just let it go

 

Find some friends,

Join a club

Just please

Learn to forget

 

Sometimes things happen

We aren’t prepared for

But all we can do

Is brace ourselves and hope

 

All we can do

Is hope it goes well

Because there’s nothing worse

Than failure, right?

 

We can fail a class

Or a relationship

Or a parent

Or a friend

 

But it’s all the same.

It’s still a failure

But hear me out

That’s not all it is

 

Life not about the failures

It’s the memories you made

It’s the friends you had

And the chances you took

 

Life is about

How you handle

All these crazy events

That come out of nowhere

 

So brace yourself

And hope for the best

Start a revolution

Speak up and be heard

 

You don’t need grand speeches

Or a winning smile

All you need is

A starting point

 

A plan A and a plan B

And a lengthy to-do list

You need one thousand steps

And maybe a megaphone or two

 

So hold your head up

and keep your wits about you

And do me a favor:

Don't ever look back.