Tall Order

Back in the day
There was a promise broken
A couple lies, a couple fights
A couple damning words were spoken
Two souls with no business crossing paths
Brought forth two souls lightning fast
But that love wasn't made to last
It was made to burn

As cold as clay
The color red like where I'm from
A burdened fear, such wasted years
I watched you all turn tail and run
'Cause when the going gets tough, the tough get going
Guess you're goddamned right that I'm not worth knowing
If you ever loved me, the hate I feel would not be growing
That's another lesson learned

So stay
Yes, stay the hell out of my way
Love is nothing more than a charade
Self made malady
I just wanted to belong, but there's no way
No, not with the choices I've made
The tools I've been given don't make any grade
Such a travesty
The only thing I've done right is knowing I'm wrong

Second best
Your guess is as good as mine
I've given my all just to watch it fall
Underneath the hands of time
And when I get close enough to touch my dreams
They transform into that snarling beast
That's been mocking me for centuries
In the confines of my soul

So depressed
I've found no way to escape
I could tell a bold lie about the times I've tried
But these are chains I cannot break
And when you came to my heart and called my name
I thought you would help me ease my pain
You were there for the sunshine, gone for the rain
In this darkness I'm alone

So stay
Yes, stay the hell out of my way
Love is nothing more than a charade
Self made malady
I just wanted to belong, but there's no way
No, not with the choices I've made
The tools I've been given don't make any grade
Such a travesty
The only thing I've done right is knowing I'm wrong

So, stay
Yes, stay the hell out of my way
I haven't got a damn thing left to say
This symphony of sympathy
I sicken myself in song, but that's okay
Time to deal with the choices I've made
With these tools I will dig my own grave
Such a tragedy
The best time I had here was when I was gone

Painting

You created me
With your bare hands
And an austere vision
I am a piece of you
Displayed in frame
A glorious commission

You hung me in an obvious spot
You loved and hated every blot
This collection of time you forgot
That's me on the wall up there

I watch you walk by
Every single day
I fail to see the good I've done
I collect dust
I require explanation
And you're too overrun

I saw you take me down and sell me
When were you planning to ever tell me?
It's not like I'm afraid of what hell means
I just wanted a fair chance

You scoff at me
Turn your nose in apathy
Start a new painting, mine is killed
Say I no longer represent you
You don't think I was ever meant to
But I think I always have and always will

Rise

I remember the days
When the only way to stop the pain
Was to cause some to myself
Or to allow you the chance to make it worse
I've evacuated hope before
But I feel like I can break the chains now
Ratcheted down to the soil, my skin is alive
I never wanted it all
I just wanted enough
But enough wasn't enough for you
There's a stain in my soul
You can't bleach it enough
The days are like wounds and the sun
Cauterizes my heart to the pain
I see the evening rise
The thirst is quenched, the fever is gone
I watch you cut your wrists and run
To the nearest exit for sympathy
It's easy to open your arms
When the broken throw themselves at you
Begging for healing
But you plan to manipulate
Which is just what they want
My heart is harder than steel
But inside, there is unaided hope
A listlessly wandering inferno of love
Burning all that it touches to ashes
When the phoenix arises the ashen stains remain
The pain is reborn with the love
The hope is entangled with sorrow
I contain myself within
Because I don't want to hurt you
Nor will I sit and watch you hurt yourself

The Same

The heart of a killer
Beats the same blood
Through the same veins as
The heart of restraint
The eyes of a sinner
Sees the same sun
And the same moon
As the eyes of a saint

So what do we gain through nomenclature?
We divide ourselves, so quick to walk away
An obfuscated mind feeds a hellish nature
When will we realize we're all here to stay?

Breathe winter deep into your lungs
Sharp breaths assassinate your aspirations
Exhale summer until the day is done
Destroy all preconceived inclinations

The hand of a builder
Grips with different strength
Goes through different pains
Than the hand of a surgeon
When their souls collide
Do they shake their hands with pride
Or do they start up a fight
About who's more important?

If I could trade with you
I would take what I could get
Give my best without regret
And I'd hope you'd do the same
I'd like to join you
In lifting each other up
We sure could use some better luck
To add to our names

Breathe winter deep into your lungs
Sharp breaths assassinate your aspirations
Exhale summer until the day is done
Destroy all preconceived inclinations

Argument

Speaking
Always with a quivering voice
The heart is draining and the mind runs over
Barely holding onto what I have
What I have is next to nothing

And so you unlock my door
With your eyes locked upon my throat
Cutting gashes in the skin of my soul
Blood is simmering and the night sky is red
Your eyes are dark like the corner of this room
But I knew that those monsters were there

Just fleeting you say
Your tears fall and your words fall with them
All I can do is brace for impact
Decide
Retreat to high ground
You nailed the script but your performance is dry

I am no coward
You are no master
Exposition brings no closure
Dislocated
I hope you feel better after your rage
You never even touched me

Silage

There was an image in my mind
Walking through the rain
Perspective of grey as the sky begins shifting
Malevolent winds screaming through the street
Went too far away
Footsteps trace a pattern
Unfamiliar, unmolested ground
Gazing up to a world
Too busy to notice this
Young, drenched man who lives in these fortresses
Languishing every hour
Uncertain of the paths that lay before him
Accepting their futility anyway
Watch how the light plays a trick on you
The pledge is the radiance piercing the cold
The turn is warmth and an everlasting glow
The truth is it's gone when you need it the most
And this is all my eyes can find
The light bears no clarion call of comfort
Cold, dark struggles are my lifeblood
Light is nothing but blinding
So bring me back to the darkness
That I may smile once more

Castaway

Your love was the same as poison
You had me under your microscope
You didn't love without conditions
You kept the foot of your perfect life upon my throat
Death and doom were my choices
We shattered every time silence broke
You thought yourself a religion
I wrapped my hands around your dogma and choked, choked, choked

 A year had passed since we wrote our notes
But we should've known it right from the start
Hope could never keep us together
Love can mend life, but you used it to break my heart

So take the message from the bottle
And cast it back to the sea
A hundred million castaways could not
Possibly appeal to me
Your love for me may have existed
But jealousy burned it into ash
The charred remains are so twisted
I could care less to send the S.O.S.

A year had passed since we wrote our notes
But we should've known it right from the start
Hope could never keep us together
Love can mend life, but you used it to break my heart

When I woke up this morning
I couldn't believe what I saw
A hundred million more bottles
And you're damn right I destroyed them all
In peaceful silence I'm smiling
Yes John Donne was wrong
So stay the hell off my island
And to yourself sing this song, yes sing along

A year had passed since we wrote our notes
But we should've known it right from the start
Hope could never keep us together
Love can mend life, but you used it to break my heart

Snuffing out the S.O.S.

- featured lyrics from the song "Message In A Bottle," written by Gordon Sumner for the album Reggatta dé Blanc by The Police, copyright 1979; featured lyrics from the song "Basura," written by Grant Morgan, copyright 2011