This thing you set out to do
this person you wanted to meet
this progress you should have made
And at all these things you fell short

Because you
were scared
didn’t know what to do
didn’t do it well enough

And you feel bad
You deserve to feel bad

You deserve to feel bad
because life is hard
and that feels bad

You deserve to feel bad
because you care enough to want to learn
more than you now know
and it feels bad that it takes so long

You deserve to feel bad
because knowing all this
doesn’t make you feel not bad

But as to what you didn’t do
as well as you wanted
As to who you didn’t connect with
as well as you wanted
As to who you are not yet
as well as you try to be just now

All this hardness
for what is not yet
Is because you care enough
to want to get there

And for all that
you deserve only to feel good