that tiny ember
of doubt and fear
that glows
beneath the brush.
THIS LETTER
IS FOR
US ALL.
The awkward angels
with crooked halos and
second-hand wings.
The irresponsible
and curious
fire-bellied babies.
The deformed, with
hearts on the outside
and ears on the inside.
The squares who
use nine-to-five cubes
as planning sessions
for the real work.
For the rebel children,
the wild ones
the long-shots
the bad-mouthed
the side-eyed
the terribly terribly
terribly envied
secretly
by the safe.
For those who bear the cross-
the two perpendicular
planks of passion-
who find life is best
when nailed to it.
For the jumpers.
For the jumpers.
For the jumpers.
THIS LETTER
IS FOR US ALL,
to remind us
that we are many.
That we are right
for trying.
That purpose is real.
That making it is possible.
But this letter
is not about making it,
BECAUSE I DON’T KNOW
NOTHING ABOUT THAT.
I DON’T KNOW
NOTHING ABOUT THAT
at all.
Besides,
I’m not sure
making it
even matters
so much.
FOUR
When it comes to
my dream,
the way I like to describe it
is that
it’s a rabid beast
that found me when I
was young.
It bit me
and infected me,
but before
I could catch it,
it shot off into
the darkness.
Now I spend my life
searching for it,
hunting it down.
I know I’m on its trail.
I can smell it.
I can hear it.
SOMETIMES
I THINK I CAN
EVEN SEE IT.
EITHER WAY,
I know
I’m on the right track-
foaming at the spirit.
I look under heavy stones,
behind massive trees,
deep in dark caves,
and I will keep looking
until I find that beast,
that thing that bit me
when I was young.
THE TRUTH IS,
finding that beast may
or may not happen.
But the treasures I’ve discovered
under the heavy stones
and behind the massive trees
and deep in the dark caves
have created the hunter
and the human
that I am.
Your dream is the mole
behind your ear,
that chip in your
front tooth,
your freckles.
It’s the thing that makes
you special,
but not the thing that makes
you great.
The courage in trying,
the passion in living,
and the acknowledgment
and appreciation of
the beauty happening around
you does that.
DREAMER,
I am not fit to say much more,
because I don’t know much more than that.
If you do,
please write back.
If not,
please accept this
as just a few words
of encouragement.
And if this letter means nothing to you,
if it’s just more pointless weight
added to an already heavy life,
feel free to burn it
and use it for firelight
for this
long and often dark
road.
But if you somehow find truth,
comfort,
or anything at all
within this ramble,
keep it close
and use it for firelight
for this
long and often dark
road.
With love,
Jason Reynolds
JASON REYNOLDS is crazy. About stories. He’s the author of a lot of books, and the winner of a few awards, and seven years ago when he started writing this he had no idea he’d be talking to you. Ain’t that something? But you know what they say . . . life is but a dream.
Check him out at jasonwritesbooks.com.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Jason-Reynolds
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Simon & Schuster, New York
ALSO BY JASON REYNOLDS
WHEN I WAS THE GREATEST
THE BOY IN THE BLACK SUIT
ALL AMERICAN BOYS (with Brendan Kiely)
AS BRAVE AS YOU
GHOST
PATINA
LONG WAY DOWN
SUNNY
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division | 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020 | www.SimonandSchuster.com | This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. | Text copyright © 2018 by Jason Reynolds | “Brothers and Sisters” painting on cover copyright © 2014 by Jeff Koegel | All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. | Atheneum logo is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. | For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com. | The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com. | Interior book design by Mike Rosamilia | “Brothers and Sisters” painting copyright © 2014 by Jeff Koegel | Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data | Names: Reynolds, Jason, author. Title: For everyone / Jason Reynolds. | Description: First edition. | New York : Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, [2018] | Identifiers: LCCN 2017036160| ISBN 9781481486248 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781481486262 (eBook) | Classification: LCC PS3618.E9753 F67 2018 | DDC 811/.6—dc23 | LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017036160