Don’t change
don’t think
don’t speak
don’t move

stay clean
stay dry
stay near
stay still

keep secrets
keep status
keep lying
keep face

stay calloused
stay jaded
stay hurt
stay mad

don’t smile
don’t dance
don’t sing
don’t help,
don’t spend
don’t share
don’t care
don’t touch!

be timely
be tidy
be kind
be fake

save:
money
yourself
pride and
receipts

stay:
timid
afraid
safe and
comfortable

don’t:
take risks
scream loud
lose control
fall in love

hold on to:
mistakes
grudges
hate and
the past

deny:
belief
forgiveness
the future and
truth

never:
ask
challenge
joke or
adapt

forget:
people
passion
desire and
friends

don’t try
don’t question
don’t breathe
don’t live

and, most of all,
when it’s your time
to go: don’t regret
that you never jumped in
puddles, when you were
young, during
twilight, in a
rainstorm, on a soft spring
evening, hand-in-hand
with a girl you’d
never see again.