Shout

by Laurie Halse Anderson

we must be gentle with the living, but the dead own their truth and are fearless.

untreated pain is a cancer of the soul that can kill you

too many grown-ups tell kids to follow their dreams like that’s going to get them somewhere Auntie Laurie says follow your nightmares instead cuz when you figure out what’s eating you alive you can slay it

shame turned inside out is rage.

face my truth This is not a resting bitch face This is a touch-me-and-die face

in Ballarat, good neighbors make loud fences the language of love made visible

because the otherworldly magic available to the newly hatched is boundless and unbreakable which is why the powerful won’t let the young vote But the kids know how to use matches

Survival of the fittest is a recipe for loneliness,

guaranteeing a nasty life, brutish and short. When one suffers, all are weakened, but when everyone thrives, we dance.