we are the ones

scattered and broken

no shelter, no haven

r u n n i n g  from reality

souls turned craven

as once-upon-a-time fires, 

bold in all their glory

smolder and q u e n c h

ashen remains of a 

                             life 

                             story

we are the ones

laughing at ourselves

        forced jeers and taunts

if only we just  p l a y  a l o n g 

for the lone price of the line 

        between right and wrong

all our smiles: nothing but fakes

enduring through their  s h a l l o w  love

as we whisper for forgiveness

    hoping,

        begging,

            pleading,

to those up above

teasing and laughing

while, inside, our tears have run dry

don’t let our masks fool you

everything is just 

         o

     n

     e 

       b

          i

        g 

      l

    i

      e

we are the ones

all these bullets: cries unseen, unheard

as millions of lives  c r u m b l e,

nameless and invisible

don’t let them see us cry

     some pain isn’t fixable

weaving impenetrable masks

to look qualified

but  f r a u d s  aren’t as cogent

on the inside

but you must understand

our futures were bright once too

deemed the gifted of the bunch

so much potential

shattering with a crunch

because

as icarus flew too close to the sun

so did we

seduced by the promises of a world

we could not see

and so our wings burned

as we were tempted by the light

ending the tale

of futures once bright

we are the ones

even as we fall further

into this steep hill

it becomes clear

that

no one in the world sees that we’ve  c r i e d

no one in the world sees that we’ve  t r i e d

no one in the world sees we’re actually  t e r r i f i e d

     they don’t see 

          all the  c r a c k s  and  c   r   a   c   k   s  and  c      r      a      c      k      s

     that don’t show on a screen

          and the torrents of tears

     going unheard and unseen

because they don’t understand, don’t know

 that the things they see

  are never the h i g h  t i d e

   because they can’t see 

    past the  o v e r s i m p l i f i e d

      they don’t know

       that we  l i e d  and  l i e d  and  l i e d

         trying to keep it in

          through the force of the 

                                           g

                                          r

                                         a

                                        d

                                           u

                                                a

                                                   l 

                                                s 

                                             l

                                         i

                                          d 

                                             e

we are the ones

everything turned around

 j e e r s  cast aside

  m o r t i f i c a t i o n  magnified

  some pain will never  s u b s i d e

      but all we feel is  p e t r i f i e d.

        as we stand there,

          so, so exposed

           but behind our masks, we are  i n v i s i b l e

             hoping and dreading 

               to find someone 

                who can look beyond all 

                  that’s f i c t i o n a l

but no one in the world can understand

because all they see is the outside

they don’t see the internal battles that c o l l i d e 

where suddenly, being different is a crime

but even regret can’t  t u r n  b a c k  t i m e 

we are the ones

time is precious

and it’s slipping away

dashing out of reach

is there any such thing as fair play?

as everything tumbles and tumbles, the seconds 

                                                                       tick

                                                                       tick

                                                                       ticking on

words  R O A R I N G  and  P O U N D I N G

with the apologies that go 

                    unspoken, 

                    unaccepted,

                    misunderstood

scars and stains and wrong decisions

that haunt us f o r e v e r

                    behind a veil of falsehood

and the burning C R Y  for help 

to be U N D E R S T O O D

                    but even when the unspoken words chafe like knives against our throats

                               the world, blind to 

                    our collective, isolated shrieks and tears and endless headaches

             where behind thousands of phony smiles,

                    buried beneath miles of broken, unseen scars,

                                                                                everything 

                                                                                inside 

                                                                                just 

                                                                                b r e a k s

we are the ones

silenced

forgotten

broken

fires  e x t i n g u i s h e d

screams unspoken

when the what-if’s and could’ve-been’s and if-only’s die out

dreams wither and 

collapse

hopeless longings tuned out

leaving us to pick up the  b r o k e n  s c r a p s

running out of words to scream

tears to cry

dreams to chase

wings to fly

trying to remember the sun 

that had once tempted us

when all we have now 

is bitter, suffocating snow

when there’s only one way to  e s c a p e 

from ourselves

from the world

and 

we

l

e

t

g

o

we are

we are

we are

d o  y o u  s t i l l

r e m e m b e r  u s ?