You Can Do Hard Things

by allisonkujiraoka

You can do hard things

You, who hears every loving thing people say

and lets the words slide off before they seep in to stay,

agreeing with a nod that brushes them away.

You can do hard things

You can, because everything is hard

—it’s what you know by heart—

You’ve survived it all so far

and look, here you are.

You can do hard things

You can do them, just like you’ve done before

You wrote the thing

You spoke the thing

You broke the thing

You scoped it out

Poked it and woke it

Roped it in like it was meant to be

Hoped for it, then let it go free

You cloaked a shame and soaked a sorrow

Swallowed a slight, said no to a fight

Ran for cover, lived as the other

You clothed and soothed a child

You moved 10000 miles.

You can do hard things

You did them before

—keep track of the score,

for tomorrow there’ll be more.