Random Access Memories

You’re broken, you have issues, you have pain. Yes, I understand that, we all do.

You’re uncertain, and scared, anxious and worried. Yes, we all are.

You want the pain to go away, you want to feel confident, you want to stand tall. Yes, you and me both.

You want help. Yes, so do I.

And somehow the fates of the universe brought you to my side.

And I can offer my hand, and my kind words, or my tough love.

To help you stand back up and keep walking towards your goal.

I can help you up when you trip, but I can’t carry you to the end of the challenge, i’m not strong enough.

I can fix the car to get you back in the race, but I can’t drive it for you, I don’t have the patience.

I can draw you a map and put it in your hand, but I can’t make you follow it, I don’t have the energy.

I can pull you back from the brink, but I can’t drag you down the steps from the top of the tower, I don’t have the time.

I can make you smile, but I cannot paint a smile on your face forever, I don’t have the skill.

You are my sidekick, my partner, my friend, my playmate, my accomplice, my evil twin.

But you are not my burden to bear. You are not my duty to serve. You are not my clay to mold and shape.

I will not force you to change, I will not demand that you find happiness, I will not tell you what to be.

I will offer my help, my kindness, my doggedness alongside your own efforts to reach your own ends.

But I cannot, and will not, do it alone.