You are in pain, Let me help you I’ve known you a short time I feel like I’ve known you since mammoths walked I feel like your pain is my pain and the only way to relieve it Is to grieve and hurt with you You, my lover, my friend, stranger on the street who let me into your soul Let me help you shoulder that pain Nobody can cure the holes in our souls, fill them in with dirt, right away But together, we can start. And they might still look like fresh graves in a month or in a decade But we all deserve help stamping down that dirt, or putting flowers on it Whatever grieving and help look like, we all deserve love We all deserve that light Grieve. Let the feelings happen. It is okay. Find someone who loves you. Let them comfort you. If you feel like doing so is a burden, let me tell you, one heavy heart to another I know how hard it is to reach out I know that the shadow of depression leeches out your soul It’ll tell you that you are dragging them down It’ll help you put your hand down, it’ll breathe your voice for you, it’ll move your mouth And it’ll say, for you, “I am fine” You and I know otherwise. We aren’t okay. Fine is a liar. That old shadow hangs around every word, telling you lies Your friends don’t care You’re alone You don’t deserve help. It’s a liar. It’s a specter convincing you that you don’t deserve niceness. You do. You deserve someone sitting next to you Standing next to you Messaging you “You are not alone” You deserve someone who listens Who cares Who is willing to help you shoulder your pain That old specter will always be with us, taunting us Haunting us Let’s try to keep them at bay, to help each other weather their assaults Because you deserve that. You deserve someone who helps you take a break. You deserve help, and you deserve happiness. Image Description: A wide valley with snow-capped mountains from one edge of the frame to the other. The top half of the picture is a blue sky with fluffy clouds. The bottom third is a snow-covered frozen lake. There are pine trees along the center of the photo, coming in from both edges and stretching toward the mountains. A lone snowman is near the center of the frame.