You say you know

you say you can

you say you are

But if you did

you would know my heart aches

you would do what you could 

you would be there for me

you do not know, in fact

that what you see is a set, a 

simple stage for my performance

cardboard cutouts and 

two-dimensional words on a page 

How stupid of you. 

I have prepared a little toy

something to entertain you with

while I hide behind that curtain 

where another one lies—

for that is myself 

the one that you have never seen 

the one that you do not know

the one you could laugh at

No, no, we must keep it sheltered

I am hurting. 

Do you not see the bloody dagger you wield? 

No, that is not what you see

you see words 

simple and insignificant. 

That is all you see. 

So I will sing you a song

a soft lullaby to avert your eyes

from the thinning curtain. 

A song to silence the flicker in my heart. 

But what if I burst into flames?