Thirty poems in thirty days: DAY 20

20/30

To the days when you feel like waking up is the hardest thing you've ever done
remember what it was like to be little

to brave the schoolyard bully waiting to shove your face into the mud before taking your lunch money
to face up to apathetic teachers who told you Hercules and his pet horse Pegasus weren't real
to the prospect of sitting behind the girl who didn't know you existed while smelling the new shampoo her mom bought her; loreal kids
to eat healthy sauce spread on whole wheat bread while your friends pull out lunch kit snackers and pizza pockets
to losing all your candy at pogs; starburst and oh henry and rockets
dammit

life is rough around the edges
but its middle is gold like a cutting horizon sunset reflecting off the snow of some forgotten backcountry farm field near Kingston
beauty can be found in the worst scenarios
where every moment goes
to show
that if you fight
it'll be worth it, so
embrace the waste and face it
life is made pretty with problems
and spirits are forged in the flames of tribulation
but as long as we use up our fighting spirits losing in xbox and playstation
the world will turn without us
leaving us behind
so
unconvinced that we've ever figured out
what life truly is like
beyond the screen of complacency and cowardice
this
is a battle.
A call out to all those who wake up feeling like it's the hardest thing they can ever do
be you
stay true
from the course, don't waver, and from the fight, don't balk
because there is nobody else in this world who can do you more beautifully than you
real talk.