sometimes it's hard

when I was younger
I used to have these big meltdowns
I would start crying over something small
and then it would get worse
until all the sad things in the world
would swallow me.
it felt like I was drowning

my mother would tell me
Fake It 'Till You Make It.

it meant that even if I felt like crying
I would smile
not as a mask
or a lie
a way to tell myself
it's okay.
You Will Be Okay.
 even if but the hurt felt
unmanageable
in the end
the smile wouldn't just be the face I was making
and
I would feel okay.

because sometimes
when you feel like you are falling,
in a black hole,
if you tell yourself you are in a library
with a warm cup of hot cocoa and your favorite book
with a little kitten on your lap,
it makes it okay.
it makes it manageable, if only for a few seconds.

~Natalie
I write descriptive poetry for the imaginative and include original photos. I hope you enjoyed my writing! Post a comment if you have any ideas or questions!  For recipes and culinary writing, visit Cooking Under Quarantine, my cooking blog.