Sad Girl’s Guide to Being Vulnerable

Strip down,
all the way down.
More, give them your skin;
you’ll know it’s enough
when you don’t realize panic.
Throw away every diary you’ve ever had.
Start telling your stories to strangers on the street.
Roll up your sleeves.
Talk about everything that hurts you
and put it into poems.
Post them on the internet, where everyone can see,
and use your real name.
Talk about your childhood; the fears
you weren’t taught to grow out of and the dreams
you were told to drop.
Take pictures of your nakedness and leave all your clothes on.
Always make the first move, even if it breaks you.
Run the risk of never knowing what went wrong.
Give and give too much.
Donate your lungs to a sick man in Germany.
Hand over your gratitude to whoever
hurt you most.
Tell your parents about the drugs you did in college.
Tell them about the days
you almost died.
Unbury your burdens.
Call it recovery.
It will make people hopeful.
It will leave you terrified.

By Schuyler Peck

Biography:

Schuyler Peck holds a Bachelor’s degree in creative writing and she’s hoping to soon move to the rainy daze of Seattle. Her work has been featured in JuxtaProze Magazine, Literary Sexts Vol 2, Rising Phoenix Review, Persephone’s Daughters Magazine, and Words Dance Magazine, as well as her own book of poetry, A Field of Blooming Bruises. When Schuyler’s not writing about feels, nature, and all around loneliness, she’s likely gardening. She loves you. SchuylerPeck.tumblr.com