heal the hurt by Elizabeth Califano, ’28

sometimes it’s hard for me 

to understand myself

to understand my own thoughts

to speak them out ever so mindlessly and 

try to feel for a meaning, 

fumbling for a light switch in the dark

scanning the wall and reaching out

searching for some direction 

some way to see clearly

trying to decode my own riddles

i can’t grasp my own concepts sometimes

but i can when other people 

struggle with the same 

things 

i do

i find a way to understand

i find a way to give the advice that i can’t take

i find a way to feel

i find a way to think as clear as the caribbean

i find a way to help

and find the answers to puzzles all my own 

id rather heal other people’s wounds than stitch mine

i’d rather help than be helped

play the role of the wounded healer

removing the burdens from everyone else and taking on more as i go 

id rather solve other people’s problems than acknowledge the ones that i’m forced to face

id rather live knowing that i made a difference 

i’d rather wake up the next morning knowing i helped someone find a reason to stay

even though i have my own battles to fight

it never hurts to help someone struggling 

because maybe the advice that i can’t take for myself

is the advice that they need to hear.