Home > Author > Caroline Kaufman
1 " right now, I am a rough draft;I am here to berevisited and revised.hard as I try,I am not the girl poets speak of.I am not made up of ocean tidesand my heart is not a crystal drum;it will always be a weaponmore than anything.I am an incomplete masterpiece,full of crossed-out words and changes.no one ever calls the first draft beautiful,and I will never be the final piece. "
― Caroline Kaufman , Light Filters In: Poems
2 " It's okay if some things are always out of reach. If you could carry all the stars in the palm of your hand, they wouldn't be half as breathtaking "
3 " You can't root yourselfIn the ground, hoping the world Will grow around you.You were made to doMore than hide in the shadows Of another's leaves "
4 " Be grateful that Time will heal the wounds butLeave the scars.How else will you Remember all that You've survived? "
5 " Don't ask for respect;Demand it.Don't look for opportunity;Grab it.Don't add to the world;Change it. "
6 " I am not pretty.I have never been pure or soft or sweet.I am beautiful.Dirt still on my shoulder as I rise from the ground. Scars forming and healing like galaxies over my skin. I am beautiful in the way I fought back when I was buried.I turned the dirt and mud into soil, and grew. "
7 " This year, I fell in love with myself. I told myself thank you.I'm sorry. It's okay. Thank you for fighting to survive even when I don't want to. I'm sorry I blame you for things you can't control. It's okay that you're not perfect. I will love you anyway. Now, I look at my face in the mirror instead of my body. You are the most important person in my life. "
8 " I am still learning to let myself grow. I am still learning that it is not selfish to let myself become the person I am meant to be. "
9 " The wounds have healed and the scars are fading. My skin is pale and smooth. I've started to confide in my closest friends. They embrace me. Support me. Surround me. For the first time, it is scarier to think about going back than to think about moving forward. "
10 " I am done being delicate. As a girl, I was taught to be sweet,to be dainty, to fold into myself until I was nothing more than crumpled paper. This is my unfolding. I will use gunpowder to set my makeup and gasoline as my perfume. Next time you try to burn me at the stake, I will burn back. I will start a fire you cannot control. "
11 " I am a bookwith the pages all worn.the cover is tearing,the ink is fading,but I swear I'm worth the read. "
― Caroline Kaufman , When the World Didn't End
12 " if you think you are drowning,just remember:you float in water. "
13 " you held my wrists, propped me up, and moved me on your stage; all my life has been a script and you wrote every page. you set a backdrop, painted smiles, hid what was within; come one, come all, and see her now: the doll in human skin! "
14 " last night, I felt it.happiness. I didn't recognize the spark at first.I had forgotten what it was like.but then, there it was.a flash of light.a second of warmth.a glimmer of hope when all I had for years was darkness. and just the idea that this might not last forever is motivation enough to keep going. "
15 " The problem was not asking him to complete me. The problem was believing I was incomplete to begin with. "
16 " This year, I fell in love with myself. I told myself thank you.I'm sorry. It's okay. Thank you for fighting to survive even when I don't want to. I'm sorry I blame you for things you can't control. It's okay that you're not perfect. I will love you anyway. "
17 " well, you made it.you survived.the unbearable weight suddenly lifted.the endless night broke into dawn.the uphill battle led you to a peak, and now you stand tall at the summit.sowhat now?what do you do next?there is now air to breathe and room to growand time to fill and you did not plan for this, you did not plan on having a life worth living.and suddenly, there it is.so,what now?how will you make the most of it?how will you live the lifeyou fill and you did not plan for this, you never thought you’d get the chance to see? "
18 " I am still mourning the person I was supposed to grow into. I am still learning to forgive myself for being the person I am today. "
19 " I'm sure you've been offered the world, you're deserving of each land. I bet you could sew up the valleys and mountains with just the touch of your hand. I'm sure you've been offered the world, but my pockets have all been worn through. So I'll write you an ocean, I'll write you a sky, and hope that's enough for you. "
20 " Find yourself in a page. Look at where you are. Find your past in the pages before. Look at all that you have survived. Find your future in the pages after. Look at all that you have ahead. "
