Whitney Hanson

“they told me my job description but i think i’ve got it wrong. they said i was supposed to man the lighthouse and save lost ships from going down.
but every time i saw the ships i forgot about the light. i dove headfirst into the sea and swam to save their life.
  i drowned us both in the process; the ships never found the shore. i ended up helping less when i meant to be helping more.
  i think when they told me to save people with my light, i mistook their words and tried to save people with my life.
  i know i should have turned the light on, i know i should have taken their advice, but i don’t know what love is if it is not sacrifice.”
― Whitney Hanson, Climate

“dear empathy,
please stop telling me
that it’s okay when they hurt me
stop allowing me to accept
the knife you see in their side
is a reasonable excuse
for them to put two in mine
please stop introducing me to their demons
i don’t want to shake hands
with the reasons
they can’t seem to stay
please stop waving a white flag
and making me pity their anger
and make peace with their madness”
― Whitney Hanson, Home