To Stay Here

To stay here

Is to accept

 

That we might be shot

At the market

While we work

In our schools

Or simply walking down the street

 

That we are 

One car crash away

From being 

Forever changed

 

That cancer might grow in us 

Unnoticed

While we are going about our day 

Because of some poisons we breathed 

Or some chemical we ate too much of

Or for no real reason at all

 

That we risk daily

Randomly losing 

Those we hold dear

 

To stay here

Is to acknowledge

That we may never reach 

The finish line

We were running towards

The goals

We’ve been working towards

 

To stay here

Is to acknowledge

That our reason for staying here 

May likely change with time

From reaching a specific goal

To seeing how far we can get

Despite the odds 

 

To stay here

Is to stare down disappointment 

And realize 

That disappointment 
Sometimes wins

 

Yet we stay here

 

Stay here

 

Stay to rewrite life’s rules

 

Stay not because 

Life has treated you well

 

Stay because 

Perfection is a lie

 

Stay because 

The very best parts of life

Are found more easily

And felt more deeply

By those who have once

Been broken

 

Stay because

The miracle is

That we exist

For any time

At all