**When your shoulders feel heavy,**

try removing the guilt of your parents.

Why does their tragedy have to be yours?

**Try to say his name without bleeding.**

He’s the knife, not the hand.

**Try to listen to the birds, not just hear them.**

They’re saying something.

**Try to exist, not live.**

Your existence stretches across the universe,

life ends.

**Try to be better, not just good.**

Goodness is a misconstrued thing.

Nobody really knows what it is.

**Try to feel, not hurt.**

You often confuse the two.

Sometimes you need to feel something,

but that something doesn’t have to be pain.

**Try to wonder, not believe.**

Belief demands too much commitment.

Nobody really knows what they want.

**Try to fall, not fly.**

Falling means you have to land

somewhere, even if it’s a thousand times.

If you fly, you might never come back.

Some people can’t tell the difference

between smiling and baring teeth.

I promise you: hunger isn’t the same as want,

and want doesn’t have to be

the end of the world.

**Remember:**

there are three syllables in _forgiveness._