Choose the lesser

hardship.

because escaping your pain

may create more distance than

sitting with it.

and ignoring your longings

may be more neglectful

than following them.

and hushing your heart

may be more deafening

than allowing it to speak.

and keeping it together

may create more wreckage

than falling apart.

and all the fears

you hold

in making the right choice,

may be heavier than

the simple acts

that free them.

invite the escape

the longing

and the fear

- not into conversation-

but into presence,

with you.

for the greater famine

is in your hunger

for so much to be otherwise.