Kaleidoscope

Dear Naive Me,

I know where you are now

Seems like it will never end.

I know the struggle of how

You tried to be their friend

*Of the lengths you went

To be the helpful one

And how your time was spent

Receiving praise from none

*I know of your pain

Unleashed in anger here

And of your uncertainty

And hiding it from fear

*Of all you tried to change

To be better for the one you love

How the blame was always yours

And yet you soared above

*We are fragile and sensitive

Crafted out of colorful glass

We were broken—

And still struggle tirelessly to move past.

*We continue to be dropped—to fall

Shatter ourselves over and over

Each break creating intricate details

As small as a chip on your shoulder

*We are beautiful and flawed

Textured, scarred, glued back together

A mural of layered shades and complicated shapes.

But, let’s get to why I’m writing this letter:

*Something inevitably must wither

Every time something new begins

And whenever it crumbles down

We are scattered to the wind

*Making ourselves “whole” once again

We gather ourselves back up, every time

Haphazardly pieced in dizzying design

A myriad of damage so sublime

*Twisting, churning, shifting

Changing every second

Evolving—a kaleidoscope of acquired lacquer light

The vibrancy we beckon

*And now, you react less

And observe more:

Pick each hue apart to the core,

Learning it’s safe to explore

*To ask questions, to not simply accept

The way things should be,

Or what people expect

About how you should speak and act

*I have never lived in white and black

But bursting in prismatic facets

As glass exteriors shatter

Releasing rainbow, billowing jets

*Each one, unique, separate

Ever moving,

Splitting off and falling behind,

But never really losing

*Because they return,

Stabbing and sudden

An individual mosaic

Blissfully they are summoned

*We carry on through each variation

And finally, we’re coming out on top

And, if we just keep pushing

We’ll have everything we want

*All the colors this life can provide

One of many, indiscriminate

And what we’ve found inside:

The secret to being infinite

Sincerely,

Future You