do not be a poet darling, i beg you
do not set down roots in a garden of flowers
only to be surprised when they grow more
delicate than you.
do not watch enviously of the way their
narrow stems sway in the wind
and allow yourself to become ashamed of the way you stand tall and strong among them.
do not allow the thorns which grow abundantly
to tear your gorgeous petals to shreds.
do not look toward the way their thin leaves
wither as they grow closer to the heavens
and romanticize about the fragile flowers
of their lives.
do not allow yourself to be held back by the dirt which covers your roots
and tell yourself you are not worthy of the sun.
do not become a poet, my darling,
do not allow yourself to drown in the darkness
of your mind
and choke on the unattainable beauty of
your imagination.
do not convince yourself that the blood
which flows through your body
is no different from the ink of your ballpoint pen.
do not starve yourself of the nutrients of life
and fill yourself instead with the intangible
sustenance of the written word.
do not allow yourself to believe that you have
to write an ending
when you have barely lived through the beginning.
do not turn your life into a metaphor for sadness, my dear.