Like mapping barren islands,
Paper curling in the sun
You traced out every curve of yourself to evade the braver ones
And you said you could never be read
You’re the Dead Sea Scrolls
You are merely an abstraction
You’re scared as hell, and it’ll stay that way
But the human voice
Can only offer so much in the way of shading
Substance into your words
Oh, come on now
Don’t shut your mouth, kid
Though you’re glossing over
The blemishes that dictate who you’ll be
It’s an awful shame
It’s a middle name
It’s an ugly bruise
It’s another day
It’s a weaving loom
It’s your parents’ room
It’s the cruelest month
It’s a sonic boom
It’s a palimpsest
It’s a wedding dress
It’s a final reprieve
It’s a last request
It’s a second guess,
A connecting flight
And you’re leaving soon
Now jump back to about where you started
Is your voice too quiet to voice who you are?
And are you subjugated by a tenderness
That cuts through the muscle that shelters your heart?
Carve your body into stone
(I belong to you, I’m not even my own)
Why is this how you atone?
(I belong to you, I’m not even my own)
To be fair, I understand
Why you’re not generous with your words
It’s too easy to condense perception
Into simplest terms
Well yours is not the story of the sacred and profane
It’s not a story at all,
There’s no narrative to trace when all you do is ad-lib
You’re on your own
Does it feel like a hole being burned into the film?
Does it feel like success?
Well, your mettle’s failed
And you’re as strong as you are frail
And I love you dearly
And I’d hate to see you go the way I have
There’s no beauty in dirt
Jump back to about where you started
Is your chest too shallow to show who you are?
And are you growing into fragility
Are you unable to shelter your heart?
Why do you keep making pleas?
(I belong to you, I’m not even my own)
Don't you know where that leaves me?
(I belong to you, I’m not even my own)
You're not your head, you've been misled, stop jumping ahead, don't do it again
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