need

you don’t need to smile

when you don’t feel like smiling,

you don’t need to pretend you are happy

when you clearly are not,

you don’t need to lie

when the truth comes so quickly,

you don’t need to listen

if you feel it will hurt you,

you don’t need to oblige those

that superficially stand beside you,

you don’t need to trust anyone or anything

unless it proves itself worthy,

you don’t need to live up to

anyone else’s standards,

you don’t need to “be

all that you can be,”

you don’t need to believe in the need to

believe,

you don’t need to be afraid of

being forgotten.

all you need to do is survive.