Lonely or Alive

You do not need to be excellent.

The earth does not ask you to be.

The trees do not ask 

how many dollars you will make of them,

and the worms do not ask how fast you travel in your car.

The earth just spins, and the worms just crawl.

The only thing you need to be is alive.

The only thing you need to do 

is love how you live.

The dogs do not wag their tails at how well you do on a test,

and they do not bark 

because they do not have time for you.

You mustn’t walk through hell to learn forgiveness— yours,

mine, or theirs.

You mustn’t cry tears to learn empathy.

Cruelty does not wait for compassion,

and loss does not wait for you to love.

Show me the worse of you. I will show you mine.

In the meantime,

the worms still crawl.

In the meantime, the dogs still bark.

The birds sing songs to you,

and rain spews from the sky

leaving the trees soaking in its despair.

You cry as you walk at the cruelty of your loss, and the earth just spins.

Whomever you are,

wherever you may be, lonely or alive,

listen to the world that calls to you and dare to say you have loved it.