Dear Nick

You’ve given all of yourself

again.

To what this time?

A job?

A person?

Now you’re left

searching for your pieces

The parts of you

you left in places

that were never yours

to begin with.

But after last time,

I traced the steps back.

They’re already laid out.

First:

Book a plane ticket.

Go somewhere far.

Somewhere quiet.

Somewhere real.

Sit in silence.

Let nature remind you

what stillness feels like.

Second:

Be goofy when you’re alone.

Give yourself permission to laugh

even if, only you, get the joke.

Third:

Make strangers smile.

Not with punchlines,

but with kindness.

Lastly:

Do the things that scare you.

Do them without hesitation.

Now

you’ll know you’re back

when you read your old, sad poems

and wonder

whose voice that was.

Next time...

Someone will tell you

to stop giving so much of yourself.

But that’s just not who you are.