Shane Koyczan

“We grew up learning to cheer on the underdog because we see ourselves in them.”

“and if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourselfget a better mirrorlook a little closerstare a little longerbecause there’s something inside youthat made you keep tryingdespite everyone who told you to quityou built a cast around your broken heartand signed it yourselfyou signed it“they were wrong”

“I you can't see anything beautiful about yourself, get a better mirror. Look a little closer, stare a little longer. Because there is something inside you that made you keep trying despite everyone who told you to quit. You built a cast around your broken heart and signed it yourself, you signed it THEY WERE WRONG.”

“A question like “do you love me?” was an itch our doctors told us not to scratch.”

“but I want to tell themthat all of this shitis just debrisleftover when we finally decide to smash all the things we thoughtwe used to beand if you can’t see anything beautiful about yourselfget a better mirrorlook a little closerstare a little longerbecause there’s something inside youthat made you keep tryingdespite everyone who told you to quityou built a cast around your broken heartand signed it yourselfyou signed it“they were wrong”because maybe you didn’t belong to a group or a clickmaybe they decided to pick you last for basketball or everythingmaybe you used to bring bruises and broken teethto show and tell but never toldbecause how can you hold your groundif everyone around you wants to bury you beneath ityou have to believe that they were wrongthey have to be wrong”

“I’m not the only kidwho grew up this waysurrounded by people who used to saythat rhyme about sticks and stonesas if broken boneshurt more than the names we got calledand we got called them allso we grew up believing no onewould ever fall in love with usthat we’d be lonely foreverthat we’d never meet someoneto make us feel like the sunwas something they built for usin their tool shedso broken heart strings bled the bluesas we tried to empty ourselvesso we would feel nothingdon’t tell me that hurts less than a broken bonethat an ingrown lifeis something surgeons can cut awaythat there’s no way for it to metastasizeit does”

“My heart is a protest that I let rally against my ribs.”

“Don't tell me you're not beautiful. You're the kind of beautiful the blind would see if we could figure out some way to give them three seconds of sight.”

“And you are worth the time it takes to take the time to get to know you. We've managed to muttle through the awkward stage of i like you and you like me, but when we both finally said 'yes' life became a multiple choice test, not knowing anything we became each others best guess. and, holding your hand is less like exploration and more like discovery. lady, i don't have to study you to be sure. you're the choice i made before i knew what the other choices were”

“We so seldom understand each other. But if understanding is neither here nor there, and the universe is infinite, then understand that no matter where we go we will always be smack dab in the middle of nowhere. All we can do is share some piece of ourselves, and hope that it’s remembered. Hope that we meant something to someone”

“And as for romance? Well, I want that too.I want to fall asleep next to you, 100 times a night,so I can know you 100 times better before we hit the day light. And despite all of this,I also want amnesia so I can relive each kiss with a perfect newnessthat leaves me smashed in the arms of rapture. I want the sky to fracture underthe impossible weight of an apology because I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I want so much.I'm sorry that I'm using "I'm sorry" as a crutch to lean on for so longbut if you sing me that song of sweet logic again then I promise to make the effortto stand on my own. There is a reason that our hearts are more like a muscleand less like a bone. I've known so many people who've have grown up flexingin front of mirrors and falling for their own reflection as if that's adequate but that's bullshit.Because we only get now until the time we go and if they've only got time to love themselvesthen nobody is going to be around to hear the sound of their heartbeat echo.So lady, don't expect an apology when I tell you I'm only held togetherby a heart that pumps blue, it's the strongest muscle in my body and I'm flexing it for you”

“I smile because there are tiny dreams that play hopscotch at the corners of my mouth, and every time I breathe they float and every time I laugh they fly kites.”

“I was never meant to be this thing...”

“Don't let your luggage define your travels, each life unravels differently.”

“Someone once told me that the finer points of devotion are about the size of a pinhole, and there are millions of them. And if you could connect each dot, then you’ve got a diagram of what you think you thought you knew, and if you’re willing to admit that you know nothing…you have the blueprint for a breakthrough.”

“You see, the deaf have an intimacy with silence. It’s there in their dreams.”

“I've been told that people in the army do more by 7:00 am than I do in an entire day But if I wake at 6:59 am and turn to you to trace the outline of your lips with mine I will have done enough and killed no one in the process.”

“I've been toldthat people in the armydo more by 7:00 amthan I doin an entire dayBut if I wakeat 6:59 amand turn to youto trace the outline of your lipswith mineI will have done enoughand killed no onein the process.”

“I don't want to turn any of this into poetry / but / you're so beautiful / flowers turn their heads to smell you”