proof of life

i owe so much of my peace to the people who showed up for me when i did not even want to show up for myself.

the ones who sat beside versions of me i could barely look at. who gathered pieces i had dropped along the way when i could not even tell which ones still belonged to me and handed them back to me gently. who stayed on the other end of the phone when my mind turned against me and spiraled all the way to hell and, somehow, kept bringing me back to myself.

and when i think about how i got here, your names are everywhere.

i hope you know that every ordinary day i get to live now carries a little piece of what you gave me.