why they shine in poetry

the stars don’t shine for you
no, they shine because of you
they burn away out there in the
cold night with or without you
the light’s there either way but
only meeting up with your eyes does
neutral light become meaningful shine

a priest will lecture at you
of imaginary things pretending
they’re true to feed you his lies
a storyteller will admit to you
she’s made it all of up in the hope
of helping you find your own truth

you are a confused animal staggering
through a world for which you never
could’ve been prepared, no one could
stumbling through faking it all but
never really knowing anything for sure
that’s okay, though, here’s the thing
so is everyone else, this is universal

we are all legion all contain multitudes
sometimes these multitudes do not agree
and yet here we all are breathing anyway
you are a wonderful interesting mystery
you’re also as conflicted as all of us
yes, you’re conflicted but take comfort
that we all are, all the time, everyone
not alone in being a thousand-sided gem
that confuses the light when it hits you

do you hate who you are, what you are or
do you just hate the box you’ve been put
into by the will of the dominant culture?
are you doing culture’s dirty work for it
by rejecting yourself instead of rejecting
that culture? maybe it’s the thing that is
requiring radical transformation, not you

“I’ve Never Been More Ready” is the default response
because none of us have ever been ready for anything
many will put all their time into faking preparedness
for others but it’s always a bald lie and an arrogance
we’ve never been ready for anything and never will be
but it’s okay, no one else will ever be ready, either

Cheap Trick had it completely backward
give yourself away but don’t surrender
give everything away, your secret selves
all your knowledge and all your shames
let them know every strength and flaw
let go of all your lying scheming ego
give up all your tricks to help others
but never, even for a second, give up

who is “the best ever” at a thing is the
least interesting about that given thing
in the world, let alone about the person
all of the greatest things will come from
the folks endlessly trying to get better as
opposed to the assholes who just want to win
winning is for losers winning is for losers
winning is for losers, get better instead

if you’ve only a few regrets in this life
it isn’t that you lived on your own terms
like some maudlin macho idiot’s swan song
it’s that you didn’t have enough imagination
I could live a thousand different lives and
still regret all the things I didn’t get to
see or learn or try or feel or know or love
if you’ve only a few regrets, Jesus Christ
you never really thought upon life at all
regrets make us want to better ourselves
regrets make us treat each other better
regrets make us who we are

neutral light becomes meaningful shine
only when it meets up with your eyes
but there’s light up there either way
with or without you, the stars will
burn away out there in the cold night
those stars don’t shine for you
yes, they shine because of you