“I Stand Outside Looking At The Moon, Thinking Of You Somewhere Also Bathed In Its Light.”

At least I have my cat.

“A hero is a person or character who is admired for their courage, achievements, noble qualities, who looks fear in the eyes and doesn’t even blink.”

That is the quote I saw on the wall of my sixth grade students classroom today. I strongly disagree.

All humans have hesitated. It’s instinct. It’s vital. It’s as strong as your heart beating. It is the culmination of thousands of years of survival. Hesitation is a universal experience.

Therefore, a hero always “blinks.” That ‘blink’ is the moment that human beings realize what they are doing. That singular defining moment that changes the gravity of the situation. The exact second that the given circumstances could produce a hero if the right choices are made.

Humans program robots. Robots don’t blink. If a robot were to walk through a path of throwing knives without blinking, would it be a hero? No, of course not. But by the first definition, they technically would be. The reasoning as to why they aren’t? Because the robot faces no repercussions. The robot has no risk. The robot has no real understanding of the danger, nor have they been forced to confront the facts of what they are up against.

That's where we come to our hero blinking. In order to be a hero, you must blink. You must have a moment to see the horrors that all logic would tell to run. Because it’s in that blink that the hero confronts the danger they put themselves in, and pushes forth anyways. That is what makes a hero. To have that shackling sensation of hesitation, and where most others would turn back, they trailblaze on. They trailblaze on anyway.

So here I propose a new definition:

“A hero is a person or character who is admired for their courage, achievements, and noble qualities, who looks fear in the eyes, blinks, and despite facing the world’s darkness, chooses to continue being the world’s light.”

i was only a sentence in the book of your life.

but you were the main character in mine.

- abby

Closing the chapter with someone doesn’t make you cruel; it simply means they aren’t a part of the next one.

WAR.

Three rotations around the sun,

and sometimes I’m still not over it,

I know the war is what I won,

But those battle plans just won’t quit.

I dug many trenches back when fighting,

years later, they aren’t filled,

‘Should I’ve done things different?’ Keeps me awake,

With sleep deprivation, I’m skilled.

I think of who I might have been if you hadn’t happened,

But if not, I wouldn’t have met that man, I wouldn’t have stole his hat and,

Put it on; “combat vet” it read right on brim,

The two of us weren’t so different, we both had wars we tried to win.

But that’s the thing about going to war:

even if you come out on ‘top’,

The ghosts you met will follow you,

The haunting will never stop.

But there’s something nice meeting a veteran,

Literal or not,

He’ll support you unconditionally,

your back he’s always got

And so I bought him flowers,

A simple thought that crossed my mind,

I’ll never forget that smile

When he revealed it was the first time,

That someone gave him something

for his service, not anyone,

The thing is, he’s got no idea

how much for me he’s done.

LOVE, DEAR ABBY

“i dream for the day you give me your heart, because i will hold it closer than i hold my own.”

- abby

“If there’s a sun in my solar system, it’s you.”

- abby

I would rather be hated for who I am than be loved for who I’m not.

…

first

second

third — one, two

fourth

sixth — one, two, three

eleventh

twelfth — one, two

fourteenth

fifteenth

twenty-first — one, two

twenty-eighth

twenty-ninth

LOVE, DEAR ABBY

🌑: “You said we were your sun and moon. Who’s which?”

✨: “Well, she’s my sun. She brings the light to my life.”

🌒: “Oh, so I just revolve around you?”

✨: “No. You’re there for me even when I can’t see you.”

🌓: “…that’s… wow… …but you know what that makes you?”

✨: “Hmm?”

🌔: “The stars.”

✨: “How so?”

🌕: “You fill the void in between.”