A year ago, I had hoped that this dark feeling would go away.

The feeling of watching a train leave the station,

Waving good-bye to its passengers,

And knowing that I’ll never see them again.

The feeling of being like the pestering ocean waves,

Always being pushed away by the shore,

But always coming back for more,

Always being there even though I am not wanted.

I’m tired of watching trains leave the station,

Waiting for a return that has never happened.

I’m tired of being the ever-crashing waves of the ocean.

Now, I have shaken this feeling off.

Are you really living, or merely surviving?

Someone once asked me.

I realized I was merely surviving.

This year, it is time to thrive.

It is time to leave the station,

Forget all the trains that have left, for they are long gone,

It is time to silence the ocean, calm the waves.

It is time for me to thrive.

No more giving people the fragile part of me,

The part of me that is my peace of mind,

The piece of me that is my self worth.

It is time to take back what’s rightfully mine,

Time to stop holding my breath in fear of saying the wrong thing,

It is time to stop mourning the trains that have never returned,

It is time to stop returning to the shore that does not need me.

This year, it is time for me to really live,

Time for me to thrive.

I deserve to.