Poetry Reading – “You Tell Yourself”

This is still a powerful piece for me. First published February 19, 2018, it really spoke to some of the insecurities and uncertainty I was feeling at the time, and often do still, as I think we all do from time to time.

One day at a time, then, and always.

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The original piece is below for reference, and can be found in its entirety at https://objectsanddistance.com/2018/02/19/you-tell-yourself/

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“Breathe.”
You tell yourself
To be quiet
And just
Inhale
Exhale
But the voices echo
In your head
And your heart;
Which one is yours?
Or did you stop talking
Long ago,
After finally
Accepting
Giving in
Giving up
No-one ever heard you
No-one even tried
To listen.
They just spoke
And spoke
And spoke
Of themselves
And what they thought of you;
So why bother?

“Breathe.”
You tell yourself
That everything is going to be okay.
That you must live
Each day
One day
At a time.

“Breathe.”
A command,
An order,
Not a reminder
Or a suggestion.
For this is a war
With an enemy unknown
And your only weapon
Is your voice
And the only one who can hear it
Is you.