For the girl
Who cried nights into thin paperback books
Every letter getting saturated with tears, memories
Every time you read a book it takes a part of you
Becoming saturated as if by water, or flood
Swollen paper-bound bundles filled with dreams, memories
You can't read the letters because of the tears
That come in your eyes
Because when you put yourself in it becomes part of you
A vessel filled with loves, dreams, fears
When you read it again, you can't help the tears
When you see your young self, everything that you knew
In between the letters, the pages, the covers
Is you
For the girl
Who ran to the library faster than she ran to the bus stop
Who searched so hard for books
Books to inspire her
Books to love
Books to fill with her tears and make a part of herself
To pour her soul into
For the girl
Who filled notebooks with her words
But was too scared to let anyone see
Who labeled every journal 'do not read'
Lest someone perchance, see into her soul
She'd be vulnerable
Bereft of the armor she'd worn so long
So she wrote
Notebooks of poetry
Too scared to let even one person see
But the words
Stayed inside her
For the girl
Who tried so hard to believe
That there was power in her poetry
That her words could change the world
You are my inspiration
Because I was once a girl like you
Who tried to write, but did not dare
Open my heart
Exposing dreams, fears, memories
Apparent in my words as much as in the books I cried into
I was too scared
Yet I wished to change the world with the power of words
I wished to inspire people like you
I dreamed that one day, people would cry into my book
Filling it with their dreams, memories, hopes, fears
Filling it with tears until it was defaced beyond repair
Bloated, swollen, pages flying through the air
Notes in the margins, but I didn't care
Because I wished to inspire
I dreamed that one day I'd be able
To share my words to the world
That I'd be an inspiration
To all those people who want to write, but don't have the guts
That by pouring their souls into my voice
They would find the courage to let their own voices shine through
Because so many people today are starved for inspiration
Searching for one perfect voice to make a part of themselves
While others search for one to inspire
So no matter what, never let go
Of that dream to change the world with your words
Because you have the power to inspire
Let the world see your words
Let your voice shine through
Because somewhere, a person is waiting to hear you