{"author":"Colleen Hoover","author_id":"Colleen+Hoover","total_quotes":208,"quotes":[{"text":"This poem is very longSo long, in fact, that your attention spanMay be stretched to its very limitsBut that’s okayIt’s what’s so special about poetrySee, poetry takes timeWe live in a timeCall it our culture or societyIt doesn’t matter to me cause neither one rhymesA time where most people don’t want to listenOur throats wait like matchsticks waiting to catch fireWaiting until we can speakNo patience to listenBut this poem is longIt’s so long, in fact, that during the time of this poemYou could’ve done any number of other wonderful thingsYou could’ve called your fatherCall your fatherYou could be writing a postcard right nowWrite a postcardWhen was the last time you wrote a postcard?You could be outsideYou’re probably not too far away from a sunrise or a sunsetWatch the sun riseMaybe you could’ve written your own poemA better poemYou could have played a tune or sung a songYou could have met your neighborAnd memorized their nameMemorize the name of your neighborYou could’ve drawn a picture(Or, at least, colored one in)You could’ve started a bookOr finished a prayerYou could’ve talked to GodPrayWhen was the last time you prayed?Really prayed?This is a long poemSo long, in fact, that you’ve already spent a minute with itWhen was the last time you hugged a friend for a minute?Or told them that you love them?Tell your friends you love them…no, I mean it, tell themSay, I love youSay, you make life worth livingBecause that, is what friends doOf all of the wonderful things that you could’ve doneDuring this very, very long poemYou could have connectedMaybe you are connectingMaybe we’re connectingSee, I believe that the only things that really matterIn the grand scheme of life are God and peopleAnd if people are made in the image of GodThen when you spend your time with peopleIt’s never wastedAnd in this very long poemI’m trying to let a poem do what a poem does:Make things simplerWe don’t need poems to make things more complicatedWe have each other for thatWe need poems to remind ourselves of the things that really matterTo take timeA long timeTo be alive for the sake of someone else for a single momentOr for many momentsCause we need each otherTo hold the hands of a broken personAll you have to do is meet a personShake their handLook in their eyesThey are youWe are all broken togetherBut these shattered pieces of our existence don’t have to be a messWe just have to care enough to hold our tongues sometimesTo sit and listen to a very long poemA story of a lifeThe joy of a friend and the grief of friendTo hold and be heldAnd be quietSo, prayWrite a postcardCall your parents and forgive them and then thank themTurn off the TVCreate art as best as you canShare as much as possible, especially moneyTell someone about a very long poem you once heardAnd how afterward it brought you to them.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["a-very-long-poem","marty-schoenleber-iii","poem","this-girl"],"id":583,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"I think I'd rather be heading to detention right now than to talk to him. My stomach is tied up in so many knots it could make a boy scout envious.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["holder","sky"],"id":1525,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"You can't get mad at a real ending. Some of them are ugly. It's the fake happily ever afters that should piss you off.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["happily-ever-after","happy-endings","life","real-life","reality"],"id":1859,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"You don’t put pressure on me to be something I’m incapable of being. You accept me exactly how I am.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["contemporary-romance","new-adult","romance"],"id":3453,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"I don't want Sydney ever to feel like my second choice, when I know in my heart that she's the right choice. The only choice.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["choice"],"id":6112,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"If we’re going to kiss, it has to be book-worthy.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["kiss","love"],"id":6908,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"This thing about you that you think is your flaw - it's the reason I'm falling in love with you.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["falling-in-love","flaws","love"],"id":7209,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"No, I mean earlier. Where’d you go? You weren't here with me because no, nothing happened. I could see on your face that something was wrong, so I didn't do it. But now you need to think long and hard about where you were inside that head of yours, because you were panicked. You were hysterical and I need to know what it was that took you there so I can make sure you never go back.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["aww","colleen-hoover","holder","hope","hysterical","sky","sweet","tear"],"id":14016,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"It's strange how money seems to silence a neighborhood,' I say quietly. 'On my street, where no one has money, it's so loud. Sirens blaring, people shouting, car doors slamming, stereos thumping. There's always someone, somewhere, making noise.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["inspirational","reflection","rich-and-poor","thoughtful"],"id":19581,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"},{"text":"I hope you defy the odds of most dreams and actually accomplish yours.","author":"Colleen Hoover","tags":["forgiveness","hope","well-wishers"],"id":19932,"author_id":"Colleen+Hoover"}],"pagination":{"page":1,"page_size":10,"total":208,"pages":21,"next":"?page=2\u0026page_size=10"}}