ways to break this southern girl’s heart…

she’s made up of sweet tea and poetry

Ways To Break This Southern Girl’s Heart
after Diane Lato’s “Easy Ways To Break My Heart”

– give her unsweetened tea. there are no two more terrible words to a southern girl when put together

– tell her you’re an alabama fan. you’ve gotta know that she’s gonna bleed volunteer orange ‘til the end no matter

– tell her you don’t like the mountains. her heart has east tennessee sunrises imprinted on it… and she wants to show you every sunlit, treelined, starkissed view

– turn down the volume when ‘country girl’ by ray lamontagne comes on. papa used to play it for her on the porch, and she’s gotta hear every bit of it, every time

– you wanna really crush her heart? then ask to meet her daddy. because he isn’t in her heart anymore. he was the first one who broke it, and in too many ways, long ago

– and if you wanna just completely shatter her into pieces… then try to give her an ordinary love. because she needs love like wildfire. like forever-fire. until every last southern sun sets. till the stars burn out. and to know her heart is finally safe… with you

…she needs to know that breaking her heart is the very last thing you would ever want to do.

– butterflies rising

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between soul and skin…

maybe tonight we just dissolve into the stars... leaving gravity behind

maybe tonight
we just dissolve into the stars…
leaving gravity behind,
quieting our heads and trading
all our dreams and curiosities
between soul and skin.
i just. get. restless.
and i can’t stay too human
for too long… it’s too heavy.
i need to leave the atmosphere,
or pull your soul aesthetic closer;
close enough to taste moon dust
in the back of my throat.
and whether we actually transcend
or just lose all sense…
i don’t care.
let’s break open and
scatter and spill and spill…
our wild universes
colliding under these stars.

– butterflies rising

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this chaos in us is beautiful…

this chaos in us is beautiful

let yourself just
feel for a moment.
head quiet.
heart,
however… wherever… all over.
then maybe you could see what i see…
how this chaos in us is beautiful.
and how we don’t have to sort it out.
if you want, we could tell each other everything,
but we could also say nothing,
and let this be enough. because just this,
it’s everything.
and just you…
it’s more than enough.

– butterflies rising

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my own worth…

i am allowed to have my own worth. to find my value in who i am.

i am allowed to have my own worth.
to find my value in who i am.
not in who i am to a man.
not in who i am to whom i support, or serve,
or take care of, or carry weight for.
not who i am in the context of
anyone else’s story.

just who i am, as i am…
bare, alone, unburdened, beautiful, and worthy.

– butterflies rising

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