The summer days are breaking open and introducing themselves to me.
They carry with them a whisper.
Optimism, my old friend, right at my ear.
“Come back to me.”
And, as summer introduces itself to me, I introduce me to myself.
A soldier long gone come back home.
I’m ready to take positivity by the reins and ride.
“Sweetheart,” Optimism coos to me, stroking my cheek.
“Softheart, hardenedheart, battered broken lovely heart.”
Lovely, I read, is a word that should be used more often.
Lovely.
Like love.
I look up at the canvas above my head.
A work called ‘Sunset.’
I see how it’s muddled blues and purples blend into each other.
The sky has bruises but we still call it beautiful.
I have bruises but I am beautiful.
I am the sky.
The world is opening up to me like it hasn’t in years.
I’m scared. I’m excited. I’m ready.
Optimism looks over at me with a warm and welcoming smile, like melting sugar.
She’s only been waiting for me to come out of hiding.
I breathe in.
I tell myself to live like love.
Remember that each day I am here is a miracle.
Live like love.
The other side of the world hasn’t seen my smile yet and, boy, they don’t know what they’re missing out on.
Live like love.
The sun is rising on a new day and its light is right there for the taking.
You just have to reach out and grab it without fear of getting burned.
Live like love.
Optimism places a gentle kiss on the top of my head.
She tells me
“You are lovely.”
Gwindalyn Harrison is an incoming senior and trying not to think about how terrifying that is. She is from Small Town Texas where she spends her days singing frequently, pretending to be other people, reading endless books, finishing books, and swearing she’ll never read another book again — until she finds another one. You can find her on Tumblr at goddammitnuwanda.tumblr.com or fromthemindthatmadeyou.tumblr.com.