“It does not count if you believe in yourself when it’s easy to believe in yourself. It does not count if you believe the world can be a better place when the future looks bright. It does not count if you think you’re going to make it when the finish line is right in front of you. It counts when it’s hard to believe in yourself, when it looks like the world’s going to end and you’ve still got a long way to go. That’s when it counts. That’s when it matters the most.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
Quotes from I Wrote This For You
“The heart is a muscle like any other and the best exercise you can do for it is called picking yourself up off the floor.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“All the space without you in it, is empty.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“Love doesn’t hate back.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“You can be in love and you can be in a relationship. But they’re not always the same thing.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“Making love was never about you and me in a bed. We made love whenever we held hands.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
The Place Where You Get Off
Photo by Jon Ellis
Outside the station, she stands with her child on the side of the street, taking pictures of cars.
You think she’s insane. Until, one day, you notice that she’s taking pictures of the license plates of the cars her child gets into.
Because you look. But you do not see.
And she walks out the shop with bags full of cat food. You think she’s some crazy cat lady until you find out, she has no cats.
Because you eat. But you do not taste.
It’s been a while since their last album but he assures you, he’s doing just fine these days, white flecks in his nostrils. Then he asks you if he can spend the night on your couch, even though it stinks.
Because you sniff. But you do not smell.
And they say “Just OK” when you ask them how school was. Then you wonder what they’re hiding until you find their diary and the last entry reads “I wish you’d give me some privacy.”
Because you listen. But you do not hear.
And they’ve got a bruise over their eye and you run the tips of your fingers over it and ask them how it happened. You believe them. Until it happens again.
Because you touch. But you do not feel.
And they walk past you everyday, one million stories, each waiting to be told. Waiting for you to ask.
Because you live. But very few, love.
—— —— ——
The above was a poem from the book, I Wrote This For You by Iain Thomas.
“Let’s play hopscotch in malls. Let’s drive fast with the top down. Let’s turn up the music as loud as it’ll go. Let’s put a couch on an island in the middle of the freeway and wave at everyone on their way to work. Let’s hug strangers in parking lots. Let’s hand out secret messages at traffic lights. Let’s make lists of all the things that make us smile and tick them off, one at a time. The world will carry on without you and me when we’re gone. Let it carry on without us, today.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“The words, ‘I love you’ become nothing but noise. But that’s why we kiss. To say with our lips what we couldn’t before.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“You are the best parts of all the songs I love.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“I’m sure people just kiss each other. I’m sure that sometimes you’re talking and somehow two people move closer and closer to each other and then, they just kiss. I’m sure it happens all the time. But I’m also sure that a kiss is never just a kiss.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“Of course it’s complicated. If it wasn’t, I probably wouldn’t be interested in you.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“Be soft. Do not let the world make you hard. Do not let the pain make you hate. Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness. Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, you still believe it to be a beautiful place.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You
“I know the world is crazy. I know love is not always the way it’s meant to be. I know sometimes, things hurt. But I also know that we’ll get through this. That our hearts will arrive on the other side, in one piece. That everything is beautiful, if we give it the chance to be.” ~ Iain Thomas, I Wrote This For You