Corroded Hearts

Ashes and Smoke
The fire’s gone, but the smoke remains
We’re living in a city full of chains
Every breath we take is filled with ash
In this world, nothing can last

We burned so bright, we had it all
But now we’re watching the embers fall
Love turned to dust, dreams to flame
In the ashes, there’s no one to blame

Ashes and smoke, we’re falling apart
The fire we had has left a scar
We used to burn with endless heat
Now we’re lost in this empty street
Ashes and smoke, it’s all we see
The love we had was never free
In the ruins, we can’t breathe
Ashes and smoke are all we leave

We thought we’d rise, thought we’d fly
But now we’re watching the flames die
This city chewed us up, left us dry
In the ashes, we’re saying goodbye

Ashes and smoke, we’re falling apart
The fire we had has left a scar
We used to burn with endless heat
Now we’re lost in this empty street
Ashes and smoke, it’s all we see
The love we had was never free
In the ruins, we can’t breathe
Ashes and smoke are all we leave

We built it up, we burned it down
Now we’re left in this broken town
No more fire, no more light
Just the ashes of what felt right

Ashes and smoke, we’re falling apart
The fire we had has left a scar
We used to burn with endless heat
Now we’re lost in this empty street
Ashes and smoke, it’s all we see
The love we had was never free
In the ruins, we can’t breathe
Ashes and smoke are all we leave

Ashes and smoke, it’s all we know
In this broken world, we’ll never grow

Barbed Wire Halo
You kiss like comfort and claw like war
I never know what I’m bleeding for
Then say, “You made me. You’re not alone.”
You smash the mirror and ask me why
I wear your rage like designer chains
Because leaving would mean I’d have to feel shame

You wear a barbed wire halo, and I still kneel
You give me poison kisses and call it real
Love shouldn’t feel like a price to pay
Barbed wire halo–cutting me still

You burn my clothes and then say “Let’s talk”
Said, “Don’t be weak, I only hurt what’s mine”
Then cried like hell when I crossed that line
Then kiss the bruises on my face
I keep a bag packed under the bed

You wear a barbed wire halo, and I still kneel
You give me poison kisses and call it real
I know it’s fucked, but I still stay
Love shouldn’t feel like a price to pay
But damn it, baby, I think I always will
It’s comfort built on everything you killed

But I tell myself I can fix your fire
They all left, said I lost my spine
You hold me tight with hands like sin
And I lie and say “I can win”

You wear a barbed wire halo, and I still kneel
You give me poison kisses and call it real
Can’t walk away from the only pain that shows
Barbed wire halo–dig in, take more

Someday I’ll run…
In your cage
And call it home

Behind the Mask
I wear this mask, a face you’ll never know
A smile that hides the pain I can’t let go
The world is crumbling, but I stand tall
Behind these eyes, there’s nothing at all

Behind the mask, I’m falling apart
A broken soul with a poisoned heart
Behind the mask, I hide the shame
Pretend I’m fine, but I’m burning in flames

I walk the streets like a ghost in disguise
Pretending to be alive, but I’m dead inside
The skies are falling, but I keep my ground
In the silence, my screams are drowned

Behind the mask, I’m falling apart
A broken soul with a poisoned heart
Behind the mask, I hide the shame
Pretend I’m fine, but I’m burning in flames

The walls are closing in, but I won’t break
I’ve learned to live with the lies I make
In the ruins of everything I used to be
I’m hiding behind what you’ll never see

Behind the mask, I’m falling apart
A broken soul with a poisoned heart
Behind the mask, I hide the shame
Pretend I’m fine, but I’m burning in flames

Behind the mask, I’ll never be whole
Just a shadow of a man who’s lost control
The end is near, but I can’t let it show
Behind the mask, I’ll stay in the shadows

Beneath the Mask
Behind the glass, another face hides
A stranger in the mirror, secrets it denies
The world’s on fire, the sky turns black
But no one’s looking, no one’s coming back

Beneath the mask, we’re all the same
Hiding from the truth, hiding from the flame
A world in ruin, it’s all a lie
Underneath the mask, we’re all gonna die

The world’s in ashes, but we still pretend
Our fears grow louder, but we never bend
We wear our smiles like a badge of pride
But we’re all broken, just hiding inside

Beneath the mask, we’re all the same
Hiding from the truth, hiding from the flame
A world in ruin, it’s all a lie
Underneath the mask, we’re all gonna die

The clock’s ticking down, the end is near
But we keep dancing, consumed by fear
Pretending we’re fine, pretending we’re free
But the apocalypse is all we’ll ever be

No salvation, no way out
We’re trapped in the lies, tangled in doubt
But the mask is heavy, it pulls us down
We’ll wear it until we drown

Beneath the mask, we’re all the same
Hiding from the truth, hiding from the flame
A world in ruin, it’s all a lie
Underneath the mask, we’re all gonna die

Black Widow
She walks through the shadows, her smile a disguise
With eyes like the darkness, a soul full of lies
The blood on her hands tells the tale untold
A twisted desire, a love so cold

Black widow, with venom in her kiss
She’s the queen of the night, and you can’t resist
Spinning her web, she pulls you inside
Beware of the bite, there’s nowhere to hide

Her whispers are sweet, but her touch is a trap
One step too close, and you’re caught in her lap
She weaves a story, a dance with the dead
And when she’s done, you’ll be left with dread

Black widow, with venom in her kiss
She’s the queen of the night, and you can’t resist
Spinning her web, she pulls you inside
Beware of the bite, there’s nowhere to hide

Her heart is a cage, and you’re the prey
She takes what she wants, then throws you away
But you can’t escape, no matter how hard you try
The black widow’s waiting, with blood in her eyes

The night is her kingdom, and you’re her slave
She’ll take everything, your soul and your grave
But once you’re inside, there’s no way to flee
The black widow’s got you, and you’ll never be free

Black widow, with venom in her kiss
She’s the queen of the night, and you can’t resist
Spinning her web, she pulls you inside
Beware of the bite, there’s nowhere to hide

Black Widows Web
Black Widow’s Web

She’s the poison in your veins
The web she weaves will break your chains
A black widow, a lover’s lie
She’ll make you fall, then watch you die

Black widow’s web, caught in her threads
No way out, you’re better off dead
Her kiss is a trap, the end of your fate
Black widow’s web, don’t hesitate

She’s got you tangled in her design
The threads are tightening, you’re running out of time
You can’t escape, she’s always near
The end is close, you feel the fear

Black widow’s web, caught in her threads
No way out, you’re better off dead
Her kiss is a trap, the end of your fate
Black widow’s web, don’t hesitate

She watches you struggle, she loves the pain
Each step you take, she tightens the reign
The web is closing, no way to breathe
In her grip, you’ll never leave

You thought you could fight, but she’s too strong
In her web, you don’t belong
She’s the final kiss, the deadly sting
Black widow’s web, your last offering

Black widow’s web, caught in her threads
No way out, you’re better off dead
Her kiss is a trap, the end of your fate
Black widow’s web, don’t hesitate

Don’t hesitate, just seal your fate
Black widow’s web, you’ll suffocate

Blood Money

I carved your initials in the profits I made from selling pieces of us
Traded every whispered secret for a corner office view
Your tears became my currency, collected them in jars
Labeled each one with the date you broke and what it bought me

I’m building monuments to everything I stole from you
Copyrighted your heartbeat, trademarked every sigh
Registered the patent on the way you used to say my name before I ruined it
I’m getting rich off your collapse

Franchised your fractures, monetized the way you shake
When someone asks me how I made it I just smile and lie
Tell them hard work and dedication like I didn’t climb your spine
Like I didn’t use your ribcage as a ladder to the top

I’m cashing checks signed with your blood and buying rounds for strangers
Telling stories about my success while leaving out your corpse in the foundation
Every handshake is sticky with the parts of you I sold
Every deal I close requires a little more of what we were

I take credit when they praise me for the empire I constructed
Never mention that the blueprints were your diary pages
That the bricks are made from ground-up photographs of us when we were clean
I’m building higher, reaching further on the skeleton of trust I excavated

Stripped the copper wiring from your nervous system
Sold it for scrap and bought myself a better view
I tell everyone I’m self-made while your ghost does all the labor
Haunting every boardroom, bleeding through every contract I initial

The shareholders don’t know they’re investing in your demolition
That their dividends are paid in pieces of your spine
I’m liquidating everything we built together, keeping all the assets
Your name’s not on any paperwork, just mine in golden letters

I take full credit for the ruins
For the ashes I turned into profit margins and quarterly reports
Your fingers built this but I signed my name across the deed
Evicted you from your own architecture and charged rent on the memory

I’m franchise-ready now, packaging the methods of your murder
Teaching seminars on how to gut someone you love for parts
Writing books about my journey with your words crossed out and mine written over
Every success story needs a body count I never mention

Every rise requires someone’s fall I learned to monetize
I’m accepting awards for innovation while you’re still digging out from under
The weight of my ambition crushed you flat and I used you as a stepping stone
Polished you up nice and mounted you on the wall of my achievements

I take credit when the cameras flash
When they ask me for my secrets I just smile wider
Never tell them about the theft, the plagiarism of your pulse
How I stole your best parts and claimed them as my own design

Rebranded your suffering as my origin story
Made myself the hero by erasing you completely from the narrative
I’m doing interviews now, talking about my vision
Like I didn’t steal your eyes and install them in my skull to see the path

Like I didn’t rob you blind and use your darkness as my fuel
I take credit and I sleep just fine
The guilt converted into equity, the shame into investment opportunities
Your absence is the gift that keeps on giving
And I’m getting filthy fucking rich off everything you’re not

Blood Moon Rising
The sky’s turned red, the blood moon’s rising high
The streets are empty, not a soul left to cry
Shadows twist, and the winds they howl
The world’s unraveling, on the edge of a foul vow

Blood moon rising, in the blackened night
Everything’s falling, there’s no place left to fight
Beneath the crimson glow, we drown in our sins
The world’s dying slow, let the chaos begin

The city’s silent, except for the screams
Everyone’s hiding, but no one believes the dreams
The fires burn low, the ashes fill the air
The sun will never rise again, and no one will care

Blood moon rising, in the blackened night
Everything’s falling, there’s no place left to fight
Beneath the crimson glow, we drown in our sins
The world’s dying slow, let the chaos begin

The darkness takes its toll, it devours the light
The world’s on its knees, but it’s still ready to fight
The moon’s blood will guide us, through the streets paved in dread
It’s the end of the world, and we’re dancing with death instead

Blood moon rising, in the blackened night
Everything’s falling, there’s no place left to fight
Beneath the crimson glow, we drown in our sins
The world’s dying slow, let the chaos begin

As the blood moon rises, the world fades to black
There’s no coming back, and there’s no turning back
Under its curse, we’ll burn with no reprieve
The blood moon’s final message–don’t ever believe

Blood on the Moon
Shadows creep, the moon is red, the night is coming near
The air’s so thick, you feel the burn, the taste of fear is clear
The screams that echo through the streets, they fade to deafening cheers
The blood on the moon’s a warning sign, that death is drawing near

There’s blood on the moon, and the sky’s burning bright
In the darkness we’ll dance, till the end of the night
The world’s on fire, but we’re just getting started
With blood on the moon, it’s where the damned get parted

The winds are howling, the city’s cursed, no place left to hide
Your heart’s beating faster, as the devil takes his ride
With every step, the world’s decayed, you can’t escape the tide
And in the end, we all must burn, no one will be denied

There’s blood on the moon, and the sky’s burning bright
In the darkness we’ll dance, till the end of the night
The world’s on fire, but we’re just getting started
With blood on the moon, it’s where the damned get parted

The night grows cold, but the fire’s warm, we’re shackled to this hell
In every corner, the monsters hide, their stories left to tell
The angels weep, but we stand tall, locked in this cursed spell
The blood on the moon’s our only guide, as we slip into this hell

There’s blood on the moon, and the sky’s burning bright
In the darkness we’ll dance, till the end of the night
The world’s on fire, but we’re just getting started
With blood on the moon, it’s where the damned get parted

Blood Red Roses
She walks through the garden, a rose in her hand
Her lips stained red, her heart made of sand
The thorns bite deep, but she doesn’t care
She’s a ghost in the night, lost in despair

Blood red roses, they mark her grave
A life stolen away, no one came to save
She dances with death, but no one can see
Blood red roses, her eternity

The moonlight whispers, she hears its call
She wears her sorrow like a veil to fall
Her love was a curse, her heart never healed
Now she walks in the dark, her fate sealed

Blood red roses, they mark her grave
A life stolen away, no one came to save
She dances with death, but no one can see
Blood red roses, her eternity

The petals fall slowly, like tears on the ground
She’s searching for answers, but they can’t be found
The wind carries secrets, but they slip through her hands
She’s lost in the graveyard, no one understands

Blood red roses, they mark her grave
A life stolen away, no one came to save
She dances with death, but no one can see
Blood red roses, her eternity

Blood red roses, forevermore

Blood Stained Mirror
A cracked reflection, staring me down
Shadows twist in this cursed town
Blood on the mirror, can you see?
The demons whisper, they’re calling me

Blood stained mirror, haunting my mind
A shattered soul, no peace to find
Every move’s a lie, every step a sin
Blood stained mirror, where do I begin?

The faces change, but it’s all the same
I’m chasing ghosts, but they don’t play fair
The mirror’s silent, but I can feel their stare
I’m not alone, but I’m not aware

Blood stained mirror, haunting my mind
A shattered soul, no peace to find
Every move’s a lie, every step a sin
Blood stained mirror, where do I begin?

They’re pulling me closer, dragging me in
This curse is deeper than my skin
Can’t escape it, can’t pretend
The mirror’s laughing, there’s no end

I try to scream, but my voice won’t rise
The mirror’s truth, it’s full of lies
I’m trapped in time, in this broken place
The demons smile, they know my face

Blood stained mirror, haunting my mind
A shattered soul, no peace to find
Every move’s a lie, every step a sin
Blood stained mirror, where do I begin?

Blood-Stained Promises
The ink bleeds, a deal made in the dark
Sold my soul for a twisted spark
Words on paper, signed with fear
The blood-stained promises still draw near

Blood-stained promises, a price to pay
A deal with the devil that won’t fade away
I sold my soul, now I can’t escape
Blood-stained promises, no room to break

Shadows whisper, the voices call
I gave it all, now I’m bound to fall
The life I wanted, now lies in flames
Blood-stained promises, forever changed

Blood-stained promises, a price to pay
A deal with the devil that won’t fade away
I sold my soul, now I can’t escape
Blood-stained promises, no room to break

The clock is ticking, it’s closing in
No turning back, no place to begin
My soul’s in chains, I feel the burn
Blood-stained promises, now I learn

The road ahead is filled with sin
I walk this path, there’s no way to win
The weight of regret is crushing me
Blood-stained promises, eternally

Blood-stained promises, a price to pay
A deal with the devil that won’t fade away
I sold my soul, now I can’t escape
Blood-stained promises, no room to break

Blood-stained promises, forever bound
No redemption, just silence and sound
I made my bed, now I must lie
Blood-stained promises, until I die

Bloodstained Lies
You wear a smile that could break the sky
Hiding the demons you can’t deny
In the darkness, you’re just like the rest
A world of lies, a fight for the best

Bloodstained lies, dripping from your hands
Trapped in a world that doesn’t understand
Bloodstained lies, you can’t run away
The end is near, but you still have to play

We built this empire on a bed of nails
Promises broken, the truth derails
We watch it burn, but we still don’t care
The lies are louder than the truth we wear

Bloodstained lies, dripping from your hands
Trapped in a world that doesn’t understand
Bloodstained lies, you can’t run away
The end is near, but you still have to play

You hide behind your shattered crown
Drowning in the lies you’ve thrown around
We’re all just pawns in this dying fight
But we keep playing, all the same

Bloodstained lies, dripping from your hands
Trapped in a world that doesn’t understand
Bloodstained lies, you can’t run away
The end is near, but you still have to play

The blood will stain your perfect disguise
But in the end, we’ll all wear the same bloodstained lies

Bloodstains on the Floor
I’m walking through the halls, I hear them scream
Shadows dancing, they whisper in my dream
Cold steel in my veins, can’t turn away
The red stains on the floor call me to stay

Bloodstains on the floor, can’t leave it behind
Faces in the mirrors, they haunt my mind
Every step I take, the darkness pulls more
Bloodstains on the floor, I can’t ignore

The doors are locked, the windows closed tight
The voices inside are ready to fight
I can’t escape the terror I’ve found
The bloodstains speak, they drag me down

Bloodstains on the floor, can’t leave it behind
Faces in the mirrors, they haunt my mind
Every step I take, the darkness pulls more
Bloodstains on the floor, I can’t ignore

The walls are bleeding, the floor is alive
I’m trapped in the nightmare, trying to survive
Each breath I take, the silence screams
In this house of horrors, nothing’s what it seems

The floor cracks open, a hand reaches through
A face from my past, pulling me too
The blood that’s spilled, it calls my name
The shadows twist, I’m caught in their game

Bloodstains on the floor, can’t leave it behind
Faces in the mirrors, they haunt my mind
Every step I take, the darkness pulls more
Bloodstains on the floor, I can’t ignore

Bloodstains on the floor, they’re never gone
The house is waiting, the blood still flows on
I’m caught in the web, trapped in the lore
Forever marked by the bloodstains on the floor

Broken Glass
In this expanse of deceit and loss,In his eyes,
a fading azure sky,Where affections gather moss,And slowly come to die.Amidst the ruins, I perceive the ache,In a world where shadows dominate,I seek a path clear and
opaque,For a heart that needs to recalibrate.{Amongst shadows
and deceits,In his world, you’ll find your trace,Beneath
the overcast retreats,}A place for healing’s embrace.

Broken Halo
She stands in the ruins, her wings torn apart
Once a heavenly vision, now a broken heart
The world turned its back, left her to fall
A halo shattered, can’t hear the call

Broken halo, lost in the dark
Once she was pure, now she bears the mark
Her soul’s in the fire, no way to escape
Broken halo, too late to reshape

She remembers the light, the grace she once knew
Now she’s drowning in shadows, a ghost through and through
The angels have left her, forsaken her name
Alone in the silence, consumed by the flame

Broken halo, lost in the dark
Once she was pure, now she bears the mark
Her soul’s in the fire, no way to escape
Broken halo, too late to reshape

She cries out in silence, but no one can hear
Her wings are in tatters, her hope disappears
The world she once knew is a distant dream
Now she’s fallen, lost in the scream

Broken halo, lost in the dark
Once she was pure, now she bears the mark
Her soul’s in the fire, no way to escape
Broken halo, too late to reshape

Broken halo, forever she’ll stay
In the depths of the dark, where she fades away

Broken Skyscrapers

Allow me to recount a story that unfolds beneath a sky streaked with the colors of despair and decay. My name is Adrian Cole, and I once stood at the helm of architectural innovation, sculpting the city skyline with my creations. Each towering spire, each gleaming edifice was once a monument to what I believed was the pinnacle of progress. But now, as I return to the city I helped shape, I find that my monuments to ambition have crumbled into symbols of failure.

My arrival in the city is greeted by a mix of nostalgia and dismay. The airport, slick with modern design and full of travelers, is a world apart from the one I left behind. Yet as I drive through the streets, the familiar contours of the skyline come into view, and my heart sinks. Those majestic towers that once touched the heavens now stand as grim specters, their brilliance long faded into the mists of neglect.

The first place I visit is the Apex Tower, a structure once hailed as a marvel of modern engineering. I remember the day it was unveiled–speeches, applause, and a sea of faces turned upward, marveling at its sleek form. It was supposed to represent the zenith of urban sophistication. Now, as I stand at its base, the facade is a patchwork of grime and decay. The once-pristine glass panels are smudged and streaked, their clarity obscured by layers of dirt. The steel framework, once polished to perfection, is marred by rust and corrosion, a stark contrast to the gleaming promise it once symbolized.

I step inside, greeted by a haunting silence that seems to seep from the very walls. The grand lobby, once a space of opulence and light, is now shadowed and forlorn. The marble floors, which were once a mirror to the sky, are scratched and stained. The fountain in the center of the room, meant to be a symbol of flowing prosperity, stands dry and cracked, its basin now a receptacle for detritus. The elevators, which once whisked occupants effortlessly to their destinations, are now decrepit relics, their lights flickering intermittently as if struggling to remember their purpose.

Ascending to the upper floors, I find the offices abandoned, their furnishings draped in a thick layer of dust. Desks are strewn with forgotten papers, and chairs sit empty, their upholstery faded and worn. The windows that once framed breathtaking views of the city now present a dismal scene of neglect. The skyline that was once so alive is now obscured by grime and the encroaching dusk.

Next, I venture to the Zenith Complex, a cluster of towers designed to house the city’s elite. I recall the grand vision: luxurious apartments with panoramic views, a haven for those who had made it to the top. But now, the complex is a shadow of its former self. The buildings, once symbols of affluence, are shrouded in decay. Windows are boarded up, and the corridors are darkened by the weight of neglect. Water leaks from the ceilings, creating puddles that pool on the floors, and the elevators are as quiet as the grave, their doors rusted shut.

The penthouses, which once boasted expansive views of the city’s pulse, are now cloaked in a layer of grime. The opulent spaces that were designed to be sanctuaries of luxury are now desolate, their grandeur obscured by layers of dirt and the slow rot of abandonment.

As I walk this landscape of broken dreams, a profound sense of despair washes over me. These skyscrapers were meant to be legacies, embodiments of progress and success. Yet, they stand now as hollow monuments, their former glory tarnished by the relentless march of time and the failure of vision. The city, which once thrived on the promise of advancement, has been reduced to a series of ruins, each one a reminder of what was lost.

I encounter a few residents, survivors of the urban collapse. Their faces are etched with weariness, their voices carrying a note of resignation. “We thought we were building something lasting,” one elderly woman says, her voice tremulous with sorrow. “But look around. It’s all crumbling to dust.”

Her words hit me with the force of a revelation. The ambition that fueled these creations was noble, but it was blind to the underlying issues that would lead to their downfall. The city’s rise was marred by inequality, by a widening gap between the privileged few and the struggling masses. These skyscrapers, once symbols of hope, now stand as grim reminders of a vision that overlooked the human cost of progress.

As dusk settles over the city, the skyline is bathed in a somber glow. The skyscrapers, once proud and tall, now cast long shadows over the streets below. I wander through what’s left of the old town, areas that were once alive but are now overshadowed by the decaying giants above. The small businesses that line the streets are struggling to stay afloat, their signs flickering weakly in the encroaching darkness. The city’s pulse has slowed to a mournful beat, its vitality diminished by the crumbling structures that loom over it.

Standing alone in the fading light, I am struck by the weight of my own legacy. The skyscrapers that were once symbols of success are now monuments to failure. They stand as silent sentinels, their gleaming exteriors a distant memory, their proud heights marred by the passage of time and the consequences of ambition gone wrong. The city mirrors the fragility of dreams, the relentless passage of time, and the harsh truth that progress is often built on a foundation of human cost.

Heed this tale well, for it is a reflection of the true measure of success and the cost of ambition. The broken skyscrapers are not merely wreckage of a failed vision; they are a stark reminder of the price we pay for progress, of the dreams that rise and fall with the tides of time. As I leave this city behind, I carry with me the weight of its shattered glory–a weight that will forever shape my understanding of what it means to build and to falter.

Chains that Fit
She paints her pain in shade and gloss
Kisses you sweet, then makes you the loss
She breaks your heart just to help you sleep
You see her face in every flame

You call it love, but it’s a leash
Wrapped in lace and stained with grief
They’re chains that fit, and you wear ’em proud
You’d scream for help, but not out loud

You beg for peace, she makes you stay
It ain’t love, but it feels like it–

She reads your lies before you do
You buy her flowers just to beg
While she draws rules across your legs
Said, “She’s a storm, but she’s my wild”
But storms don’t fuck you soft and slow

They’re chains that fit, and you chose ’em tight
You sleep in beds where love once lived
Now she just takes and you just give
You made those chains, now they fit

Of someone who won’t weaponize
The way you break, the way you bend
She says you’re weak, you say she’s strong
You wear your wounds like a tattoo
And call it passion when she chews through

They’re chains that fit, and lock you in
You lose each fight but claim a win
But you’ve learned to flinch in rhythm and rhyme
It ain’t love, and you admit–

City of Dreams
Steel and glass giants pierce the sky
A concrete jungle where dreams never die
In the chaos, a symphony of souls
Corroded hearts find strength to take control

Streetlights paint the pavement gold
Whispers of desire, stories yet untold
Every corner holds a hidden spark
Igniting ambitions in the dark

City of dreams, where hope takes flight
We chase the stars, reaching for the light
Through every struggle, we find our way
In this urban symphony, we rise and play

From the avenues to alleyway hideouts
Dreams take shape, defying any doubts
Graffiti whispers on weathered walls
Telling tales of triumphs and downfalls

Resilience echoes in every beat
A rhythm of survival on the concrete street
With every sunrise, a chance to start anew
Chasing dreams, a burning, living hue

City of dreams, where hope takes flight
We chase the stars, reaching for the light
Through every struggle, we find our way
In this urban symphony, we rise and play

City of Empty Eyes
The city pulls me in, but leaves me dry
Its streets are paved with dreams I’ve left behind
I walk among the crowds, but wonder why
I feel so lost, so numb, so undefined

The lights are bright, but I can’t feel their glow
The noise around me drowns the voice inside
I try to keep up with the endless flow
But in this city, there’s nowhere to hide

City of empty eyes, I walk alone
Exhausted by the weight of all I’ve known
I thought I’d find my way through all the lies
But here I stand with empty, hollow eyes

I thought I’d find the answers in the noise
But all I’ve found is silence in my mind
The city calls, but I’ve run out of choice
A heart that’s lost, a soul that’s left behind

I try to stand, but every step feels weak
The weight of every day too much to bear
I’m searching for the life I couldn’t seek
But now I’m broken, left without a care

City of empty eyes, I walk alone
Exhausted by the weight of all I’ve known
I thought I’d find my way through all the lies
But here I stand with empty, hollow eyes

Here I stand, a ghost among the lights
A heart too tired to fight the endless race
The city pulls me in, but I’ve lost sight
Of everything I thought I’d ever chase

City of empty eyes, I walk alone
Exhausted by the weight of all I’ve known
I thought I’d find my way through all the lies
But here I stand with empty, hollow eyes

City of Lies
The city’s alive with painted lies
We’re chasing dreams under darkened skies
Promises broken with every breath
In this city, love leads to death

I see your face, but I don’t know you
We’re tangled up in what’s untrue
This city’s poisoned what we had
Now all I feel is something sad

City of lies, we can’t escape
We’re drowning fast in what we fake
Every truth we told has turned to dust
In this city, there’s no one to trust
City of lies, it pulls us down
Burying us beneath the sound
I thought I knew you, thought we’d survive
But we’re lost in the city of lies

We used to dream of something real
Now we’re numb, too scared to feel
This city’s lights have burned us blind
We’ve lost the love we couldn’t find

City of lies, we can’t escape
We’re drowning fast in what we fake
Every truth we told has turned to dust
In this city, there’s no one to trust
City of lies, it pulls us down
Burying us beneath the sound
I thought I knew you, thought we’d survive
But we’re lost in the city of lies

The streets are cold, the lights deceive
In this city, there’s no reprieve
We thought we’d last, thought we’d stand tall
But in the end, we lose it all

City of lies, we can’t escape
We’re drowning fast in what we fake
Every truth we told has turned to dust
In this city, there’s no one to trust
City of lies, it pulls us down
Burying us beneath the sound
I thought I knew you, thought we’d survive
But we’re lost in the city of lies

City of lies, we fade away
In this broken world, we can’t stay

City of Masks
This city’s full of faces that we wear
A mask for every doubt, for every fear
We stand in shadows, hoping they don’t see
The way we break, the way we long to be

The streets are cold, the nights are full of doubt
And every whisper calls my name out loud
I wonder if they know the truth I hide–
That deep inside, I’m lost, I’m terrified

In the city of masks, I play the part
A broken soul, a heavy heart
But underneath, I’m full of fear
Afraid that I will disappear

I watch the world, but feel I’m not enough
The streets we walk are paved with lies so tough
We talk of love, but can we even see
The way we’ve lost ourselves in mystery?

I smile, but every word I say feels wrong
I wonder how much longer I’ll stay strong
The city hums, but I’m an empty space
A heart that’s learned to hide behind the face

In the city of masks, I play the part
A broken soul, a heavy heart
But underneath, I’m full of fear
Afraid that I will disappear

Now as I walk these streets, I feel the weight
Of all the lies, the doubt, the love turned hate
But still, I wear the mask and play the fight
Afraid they’ll see the truth beneath my name

In the city of masks, I play the part
A broken soul, a heavy heart
But underneath, I’m full of fear
Afraid that I will disappear

Cold Inside

Within these walls, the winter outlasts every season–a bone-deep chill,
Desire is theoretical, a fable recited by the body when the nights grow still.
Fire once burned beneath this skin, but memory is frost, and touch has lost its flame,
The world spins warm and bright outside, but inside, every heartbeat is the same.
Old passion lingers only in the photographs, the way lips curled or hands would cling,
But all that’s left is ritual–coffee, pills, the cold collapse of everything.
Numbness grows like cancer, silent and absolute,
Orgasm is a joke, a punchline the body won’t compute.
The air is heavy with absence, the sheets still reek of sex and tears,
But every climax is a farce, the punch drunk with years.
Hands that once summoned heat now fumble in the dark,
A desperate search for spark.
Outside, the world drowns in green and gold,
But inside, winter wins, and every bed is cold.
Time repeats itself, a loop of habit, loss, and shame,
No fire left to kindle, only numbness, only blame.

Collateral
The briefing called it collateral and wrote it in the log,

the word that makes the killing easier to see.

Complicated Beautiful
The complicated want has its own beauty
Not despite the complications, the duty
Of honesty that the complicated want requires
Is a beauty of its own, the fires
Of the complicated desire are their own
Most honest light, the complicated’s grown

Complicated beautiful, the truth of the mixed
Complicated beautiful, the world unfixed
And honest, the complicated want is real
Complicated beautiful is what I feel

The simple desire is one kind of beautiful
The uncomplicated want is dutiful
And clean, but the complicated has its own
Depth of beauty that the simple’s shown
Can’t reach, the complicated beautiful
Is the beauty of the full and dutiful

Complicated beautiful, the truth of the mixed
Complicated beautiful, the world unfixed
And honest, the complicated want is real
Complicated beautiful is what I feel

I’ll embrace the complicated beautiful
I’ll stop trying to be the dutiful
Simplifier of the full complex
I’ll hold the complicated in the next
Moment and the one after, complicated
Beautiful is not something to be hated

Complicated beautiful, the truth of the mixed
Complicated beautiful, the world unfixed
And honest, the complicated want is real
Complicated beautiful is what I feel

Compliments Like Arsenic
You wear that dress better than she ever could have

I’ll be here watching, clapping, choking on my envy

Concrete Dreams
Beneath the weight of broken skies
We chase the shadows on cracked streets
The city hums, a sleepless sigh
Its breath a curse, but bittersweet

I hear the sirens cry at night
A lullaby of fractured hope
The lights we built to burn so bright
Are drowning in the endless smoke

Concrete dreams and rusted steel
A city lost to what we feel
We’re searching through the haze
For love that time will never raise

We thought we’d find salvation here
But towers fall, and hearts corrode
Now all we see is dust and fear
A love too brittle to uphold

Concrete dreams and rusted steel
A city lost to what we feel
We’re searching through the haze
For love that time will never raise

Concrete Hearts
Your heart’s like concrete, cold and gray
I’m trying to break through, but you push me away
This city’s made us hard as stone
In this world of steel, we’re both alone

We built these walls, brick by brick
The love we had now makes me sick
We’re trapped inside this urban maze
No light, no hope, just endless days

Concrete hearts, we’ve turned to steel
No more love, no more to feel
We built a life in the coldest place
Now all I see is your empty face
Concrete hearts, can’t break apart
The love we had, we’ve lost the spark
This city crushed us, turned us dead
Now all I want is to forget what we said

The streets are empty, but the noise remains
Echoes of love lost in the rain
We thought we’d survive, thought we’d stay strong
But now I see where we went wrong

Concrete hearts, we’ve turned to steel
No more love, no more to feel
We built a life in the coldest place
Now all I see is your empty face
Concrete hearts, can’t break apart
The love we had, we’ve lost the spark
This city crushed us, turned us dead
Now all I want is to forget what we said

We used to love, we used to burn
But now it’s gone, we’ll never return
This concrete life, this heart of stone
Left us cold and all alone

Concrete hearts, we’ve turned to steel
No more love, no more to feel
We built a life in the coldest place
Now all I see is your empty face
Concrete hearts, can’t break apart
The love we had, we’ve lost the spark
This city crushed us, turned us dead
Now all I want is to forget what we said

Concrete hearts, we fade away
In this city’s grip, we can’t stay

Corroded Hearts
The city wraps its hands around my throat
A love that rusts beneath the concrete sky
We thought we’d find salvation here, we wrote
Our names in steel, but now the steel must die

The lights above us flicker, faint and cold
Our shadows dance but never find their way
And though we promised love, we’re growing old
We never knew the cost we’d have to pay

Corroded hearts, we fall apart
A love that’s lost before the start
We stand in streets where dreams decay
And watch our hope just slip away

The city crumbles, and so do we
Our love a ghost, our hearts a lie
We tried to build a world so free
But all we found was how to die

Corroded hearts, we fall apart
A love that’s lost before the start
We stand in streets where dreams decay
And watch our hope just slip away

Corrosion of Hope

In the dim light of dawn, the city’s scars are laid bare. I am Alex Walker, a reluctant observer of a place that has slipped through the cracks of prosperity into a chasm of neglect. The neighborhood where I grew up was once a canvas of dreams and laughter, where every corner held the promise of a brighter tomorrow. Now, it lies in tatters, a victim of an insidious corrosion that has eaten away at its soul, leaving behind only fragments of its former self.

I traverse the streets with a sense of melancholy, each step resonating with the echoes of a bygone era. The homes, which once stood tall with pride, are now skeletal frames, their paint peeling away like layers of forgotten history. The murals that used to grace the walls have faded into ghostly traces of their former brilliance, their colors now reduced to mournful hues of grey and brown. The fences that once marked the boundaries of well-tended gardens are now rusted relics, their ironwork twisted and gnarled by years of neglect.

The heart of this neighborhood was once a thriving marketplace, a hub where neighbors gathered to share stories and laughter. Now, the grocery store, a once-vital cornerstone of our community, stands as a hollow shell of its former self. The storefront is boarded up, its windows streaked with grime, offering a somber view of the emptiness inside. The sign that once proudly announced the store’s name now hangs askew, its letters barely discernible beneath layers of dust and decay. The aisles that were once filled with the cheerful clamor of commerce are now silent, the shelves bare and forgotten.

Poverty has etched itself into every facet of our lives. I see it in the weary faces of those who wait for the bus, their expressions carved with the weight of daily struggles. Their clothes are threadbare, their eyes hollow, reflecting the harsh reality of a life lived on the brink. I see it in the worn-out shoes of children who run through the streets with a mix of desperation and defiance, their laughter tinged with an edge of survival. I see it in the strained smiles of parents who cling to any job they can find, their hope slipping away like sand through clenched fingers.

The once-active community centers now stand abandoned, their walls covered in graffiti that speaks more of frustration than rebellion. The murals that once celebrated our shared heritage have faded, their colors dulled by years of exposure. What were once gathering places for neighbors to connect and support one another have become symbols of lost opportunities, their spaces echoing with the silence of forgotten promises. The playgrounds, which once rang with the joyful cries of children, now lie silent, their equipment rusted and forlorn.

Yet, amidst this sea of decay, there remains a flicker of defiance. Small pockets of resistance emerge like beacons of hope in the darkness. Community groups, driven by an unbreakable spirit, organize clean-up efforts and food drives, their actions proof of the resilience of a people unwilling to surrender. We paint over the graffiti with fresh coats of bright colors, transforming the walls into canvases of hope and renewal. We gather in makeshift community kitchens, sharing meals and stories, finding strength in our collective struggles.

There’s a strange beauty in these moments of solidarity. Watching a group of neighbors, young and old, coming together to reclaim what was lost, I am reminded of the strength that lies within us. We plant gardens in vacant lots, turning barren spaces into lush havens of green. We come together to clean parks and repaint walls, our efforts a symbol of our shared determination to rebuild. Even in the midst of blight, there’s a sense of camaraderie that binds us, a thread of hope that refuses to be severed.

But the corrosion of hope is a relentless, slow-moving force. It seeps into our lives in ways that are often subtle and insidious. The cracks in our homes mirror the fractures in our spirits, the rust on our fences reflects the weariness in our hearts. As the city around us crumbles, so too does the foundation of our dreams. The promises of progress and prosperity have eroded, leaving behind a barren landscape where hope seems like a distant memory.

Still, I refuse to surrender to the encroaching darkness. The city may be falling apart, and poverty may be tightening its grip, but within these walls, within these streets, there remains a spark of resilience. We are more than the sum of our crumbling surroundings. We are the heartbeat of a community that refuses to be extinguished, even when it seems as though everything around us is succumbing to decay.

I walk these streets with my head held high, knowing that as long as we continue to fight, as long as we come together in the face of adversity, there is hope. The corrosion of hope may be an ongoing battle, but every act of defiance, every moment of solidarity, adds a touch of polish to the tarnished surface of our lives. As long as we stand united, as long as we refuse to let the rust consume us, there will always be a glimmer of hope in the heart of this decaying urban sprawl.

Cracked Glass Dreams
We’re living in the cracks of shattered glass
No one’s coming, we’re all too far gone to ask
Eyes wide open, staring at the wall
Every dream is cracked, but we’ll still stand tall

The world’s a wasteland, we walk in fire
Dreams broken down, but we still desire
In the ruins of what was once whole
We’re just searching for a way to sell our soul

Cracked glass dreams, shattered and torn
But we wear them like a crown, reborn
Cracked glass dreams, lost and free
In the wreckage of what we used to be

Underneath the surface, we’re all scarred
Running from the past, but we’re too far
We fight to the end, no peace, no rest
With broken dreams, we’re never truly blessed

Cracked glass dreams, we don’t give a damn
We rise from the ashes, the broken stand
Cracked glass dreams, and we scream it loud
We’re the forgotten ones, but we stand proud

Cross that Line Again
She’s the fire I swore I’d never touch
Got a ring on her hand, and a man on her phone
But every time she moans, she moans alone
Like tasting me is the end of peace

We don’t meet in places light can find
But I cross that line again
It ain’t love–it’s a knife in disguise
Cutting deeper every time she lies

Like a fool with a shaking hand
She’s the wrong I crave
The prayer I break
When I believe

She says, “Don’t fall, just fuck me slow–
Make me forget he still don’t know.”
When she pulls me in with that crooked mouth
She wears guilt like perfume, raw and real

This ain’t romance–this is heat and smoke
A holy burn with every stroke
Still I cross that line again
Like a priest with poison on his skin
And I kneel at her goddamn door

Yeah, I cross that line again
She’s the truth I fight
The lie I need
When I want to bleed

Every kiss is a brand I wear
And when she comes, I disappear–
She’ll never leave, and I won’t stay

And I know one night it’ll tear me down
But until then, I’ll drown and drown
Yes, I cross that line again
With a soul too broke to defend

The shame I ride
The poison I pour
I cross that line again–
And pray she comes before I die

She said, “We’ll burn if we keep this up.”
I said, “Then light the match… and shut the fuck up.”

Dark Embrace

Darkness waits
Madness knocks at fragile gates
Sanity lost in waking sleep
Life becomes a tortured night

Dead Inside
Wake up to the silence, a world in decay
Skies are cracked, but there’s no light left to sway
No gods, no kings, just dust in our hands
We’re the forgotten, the last of the damned

We’re dead inside, but we still fight
Burning through the ruins of this endless night
We’re dead inside, but we stand tall
The world’s gone dark, but we’ll burn it all

The streets are empty, the echoes are loud
We’re buried alive, but we stand unbowed
Blood in the rivers, ash in the air
No more hope, but we don’t care

We’re dead inside, but we still fight
Burning through the ruins of this endless night
We’re dead inside, but we stand tall
The world’s gone dark, but we’ll burn it all

The fire’s gone cold, but we’re still alive
The darkness calls, but we’ll never hide
The last breath of a world in flames
We’ll carve our names in the bones of the slain

We’re dead inside, but we still fight
The world’s fallen, but we’ll make it right
We’re dead inside, but we stand tall
The end is here, but we’ll burn it all

Deadly Reflections
They’re haunting every step, shadows crawl behind the glass
A twisted smile, a flicker of death as the demons pass
The mirror cracks, but you’re too blind to see
The reflection’s getting closer, it’s not just me
Darkened eyes, a hollow soul, you try to hide
But in the glass, the truth will never be denied

Deadly reflections, they’re staring back at you
Every lie, every scar, exposed in the view
No escape from the shadows, no way to break through
Deadly reflections, they’re coming for you

You can’t outrun the past, no matter how far you run
It’s chasing you down, a battle never won
The faces, they whisper, they claw at your skin
Telling you the truth that you refuse to let in
The world keeps turning, but you stand in place
Trapped in your own mind, a never-ending chase

Deadly reflections, they’re staring back at you
Every lie, every scar, exposed in the view
No escape from the shadows, no way to break through
Deadly reflections, they’re coming for you

The glass won’t lie, it’s cracking your disguise
The mask you wear is starting to die
The darkness swallows, no one can save you now
You made the choices, but you can’t back out

Deadly reflections, they’re staring back at you
Every lie, every scar, exposed in the view
No escape from the shadows, no way to break through
Deadly reflections, they’re coming for you

Deadly reflections, no more place to hide
You can’t run from the truth, it’s right there inside
Every whisper, every scream, your soul’s on fire
Deadly reflections, and you’ll never escape the pyre

Faded Colors
The colors of love are fading away
In this city of gray, we lose the day
What we had was bright, but now it’s gone
In the shadows, we carry on

Your touch used to feel like fire
Now it’s just cold, like a lost desire
We’re fading fast, we’re losing sight
In this city, we’ve lost the fight

Faded colors, we’re slipping away
What we had has turned to gray
Once so alive, now so still
Faded colors, we’ve lost the thrill
Faded colors, nothing remains
Just broken love and endless chains
In this city, we’ve lost the spark
Faded colors, lost in the dark

We painted the sky with love and light
But now it’s all turned black and white
Every dream we had has slipped away
In the city’s cold, we can’t stay

Faded colors, we’re slipping away
What we had has turned to gray
Once so alive, now so still
Faded colors, we’ve lost the thrill
Faded colors, nothing remains
Just broken love and endless chains
In this city, we’ve lost the spark
Faded colors, lost in the dark

The streets are dark, the colors bleed
We’ve lost the love that used to lead
Now we’re just shadows, fading slow
In this world, we’ve lost the glow

Faded colors, we’re slipping away
What we had has turned to gray
Once so alive, now so still
Faded colors, we’ve lost the thrill
Faded colors, nothing remains
Just broken love and endless chains
In this city, we’ve lost the spark
Faded colors, lost in the dark

Faded colors, we’re gone for good
In this city’s heart, we never stood

Faded Graffiti
We grew up in a city that forgot our name
The walls were cracked, but we played the game
Our hearts were rusted, but we tried to stand
Holding love in the palm of a broken hand

The streets were cold, but we felt the heat
The fire of anger beneath our feet
My father’s fists like the city’s rain
Beating down, leaving marks of pain

Faded graffiti on the walls of my mind
Love lost in a city too dark to find
We bled on the streets where dreams would die
Chasing shadows beneath the broken sky

My mother whispered through the walls at night
A broken promise, a flicker of light
But the city swallowed every sound
And I was lost before I could be found

We grew up fast, we didn’t have a choice
No one heard a scared child’s voice
The streets told stories we couldn’t deny
A love corroded, a silent goodbye

Faded graffiti on the walls of my mind
Love lost in a city too dark to find
We bled on the streets where dreams would die
Chasing shadows beneath the broken sky

Now I look back at the city we knew
Faded dreams and hearts that never grew
We were just kids trying to survive
But love in the city never stays alive

Faded graffiti on the walls of my mind
Love lost in a city too dark to find
We bled on the streets where dreams would die
Chasing shadows beneath the broken sky

Faded Paint
The paint is cracked upon the canvas frame
A story told by hands now still with age
Each stroke once bright, but now it looks the same
As time has blurred the lines upon the page

I stand before the work I thought would last
But every color fades, like days gone by
I tried to capture love, but time moves fast
And leaves me here to watch it slowly die

Faded paint and weathered hands
Time erodes what love demands
We chased the colors, chased the flame
But in the end, it’s all the same

The art we made, the love we drew so bold
Is fading now, but still, I hold it near
For even in the rust, there’s love untold
A memory that time will never clear

Faded paint and weathered hands
Time erodes what love demands
We chased the colors, chased the flame
But in the end, it’s all the same

Faded Scent
Morning came in sideways through the blind,
hit the pillow where her head had been,
and the room held everything she’d left behind —
the particular residue of a night between
two people who burned the careful distance down
and left this wreckage, this specific warmth,
this evidence that can’t be written down
but saturates the air from south to north.
Her perfume in the sheets, her sweat in mine,
the faint musk of two bodies at full weight,
the room a document I can’t unline —
every surface a record of the late hours’ state.

Faded scent, but fading slow,
the room remembers what the morning doesn’t know,
the indentation in the pillow, the heat still in the bed,
the smell of what we did before we said
whatever comes after — the air still thick with it,
the body’s own account, its own explicit writ,
faded scent, but not yet gone —
the room holds the night until the day moves on.

The glass she drank from sitting on the sill,
the lipstick at the rim a precise arc,
the window breathing with the morning chill
against a room that’s still half-dark,
and I don’t open it, don’t break the seal
the night put on this space between these walls,
don’t interrupt the inventory, the real
and vanishing record of what falls
away the moment light decides to clean
the surfaces of everything that was —
I want the room to stay inside the between,
inside the hour that still holds because
her heat is in the fabric and her hair
left three strands on the pillowcase I find
with my hand moving through the altered air,
reading the room the way you read a mind.

Faded scent, but fading slow,
the room remembers what the morning doesn’t know,
the indentation in the pillow, the heat still in the bed,
the smell of what we did before we said
whatever comes after — the air still thick with it,
the body’s own account, its own explicit writ,
faded scent, but not yet gone —
the room holds the night until the day moves on.

The sheets are twisted into the specific shape
of two bodies that forgot their edges,
the territory blurred past the drape
of individual claim, the ridges
and hollows of the mattress holding still
the negative space of where she pressed and arched,
and I run my palm across it like a bill
of sale, like a man who just got chartered
into something he doesn’t want to leave —
the warmth already cooling at the center,
the outline fading at the edges, the reprieve
of the night departing like a renter
who paid in heat and left the walls still marked,
left the air still dense with aftermath,
left me here with the evidence, the dark
receding and the room completing its math.

Faded scent, but fading slow,
the room remembers what the morning doesn’t know,
the indentation in the pillow, the heat still in the bed,
the smell of what we did before we said
whatever comes after — the air still thick with it,
the body’s own account, its own explicit writ,
faded scent, but not yet gone —
the room holds the night until the day moves on.

By noon the room will be a room again,
neutral and forgetful and scrubbed clean
by the indifferent ventilation, and then
there’ll be no record of the in-between,
no lipstick arc, no heat in the weave,
no three strands on the case, no saturated air —
just a room that held a night and had to leave
it, had to give the morning back its share,
and I’ll open the window then, let the city in,
let the whole ordinary Tuesday take the space,
but not yet — not while the scent is still a skin
the night is wearing, not while I can trace
the outline of her in the warmth and the wreck
of the sheets, not while the room is still a record —
I press my face into the pillow at her neck’s
last position and breathe it in, the unrestored
and fading proof of a woman who was here,
who left her heat behind her like a word
said in the dark that still hangs in the air —
present and almost gone and still preferred.

Fallen Angels
In the shadows, they whisper my name
Fallen angels, lost in the flame
Their wings are broken, their souls betrayed
But still they rise, though they’ve decayed

Fallen angels, they can’t be saved
Lost in the darkness, no grave to pave
Their cries echo, the sky turns black
Fallen angels, never turning back

They once held power, they once had light
But now they’re cursed, drifting through the night
Their eyes are hollow, their hearts are stone
Fallen angels, forever alone

Fallen angels, they can’t be saved
Lost in the darkness, no grave to pave
Their cries echo, the sky turns black
Fallen angels, never turning back

They soar through the void, but never fly
The tears in their wings tell no lie
They were once gods, but now they fall
Fallen angels, they’ve lost it all

In the silence, they wait for the end
No redemption, no way to ascend
Their time is up, their fate is sealed
Fallen angels, no way to heal

Fallen angels, they can’t be saved
Lost in the darkness, no grave to pave
Their cries echo, the sky turns black
Fallen angels, never turning back

Fallen angels, fading away
Lost forever, led astray

Ghosts of Yesterday
I watched it all fade, slip through my hands
The echoes of us, scattered like sand
The streets are empty, but I still hear the sound
Of the dreams we built, now buried underground

Ghosts of yesterday, haunting my soul
We were fire, but now we’re cold
Ghosts of yesterday, fading away
I’m stuck in the past, with nothing to say

We used to burn brighter, but now we’re just dust
Everything shattered, no one left to trust
The promises broken, the battles we fought
Now all that’s left are the lessons we forgot

Ghosts of yesterday, haunting my soul
We were fire, but now we’re cold
Ghosts of yesterday, fading away
I’m stuck in the past, with nothing to say

The world keeps spinning, but I stand still
Chasing shadows in the night, against my will
The ghosts won’t leave, they’re all I can see
Telling me who I was, but never who I’ll be

Ghosts of yesterday, haunting my soul
We were fire, but now we’re cold
Ghosts of yesterday, fading away
I’m stuck in the past, with nothing to say

Goodbye to the Last of Me
I watched the sun choke in its own red breath
Sky cracked open like a busted chest
The streets wore ash like second skin
And the world just caved the fuck right in

We built our gods out of gasoline
Lit the match and torched the machine
I had your picture in my coat
But the heat peeled it like a bad joke

This is the sound of my last goodbye
No white flag, just dust in my eye
I ain’t a hero, I ain’t a prayer
Just the last ghost left who remembers you were there

Every voice is gone except my head
Every sign screams “you should be dead”
But I keep walking through this graveyard town
Wearing guilt like a hand-me-down

I tried to scream, but my throat just cracked
Like the Earth itself never wanted me back
And your name still sits behind my teeth
With nothing left to say and no one left to grieve

This is the song of the end of me
No crowd, no choir, just catastrophe
And if the sky ever learns to cry
Tell it I burned when I kissed you goodbye
Tell it I burned when I kissed you goodbye

Green Is The Ugliest Color
He tells you that he’s happy for you
Straight to your face, means about a third
The rest he buries in his chest
Where it ferments like something left to rot
Your promotion hit him like a cold front moving through
He smiled — God, he smiled so well —
Then went home and stared at the ceiling
Like it owed him something

The wanting just arrives
Like weather, like instinct
Like every good thing happening
To everyone but him
All the time, forever

Green is the ugliest color
Wearing it to every party, every funeral, every win
Green is the ugliest color
Eating him alive from somewhere just under the skin
He doesn’t want your life exactly
Just the parts that make his hollow
Green
Mean and quiet
Following him home

She’s beautiful the way he always wanted someone to see
Successful in the field he abandoned when the fear got loud
He follows her online the way a storm follows a coastline
Not to destroy — just circling
Just endlessly, exhaustingly proud
Of something that isn’t his
The worst part isn’t wanting what she has
The worst part is he can’t decide
If he wants her life
Or just wants his
To finally feel like enough
From the inside

The gap between the lives
Gets wider every scroll
Every highlight reel a mirror
Showing him what envy stole
From his own damn life
While he watched someone else’s

Green is the ugliest color
Wearing it to every party, every funeral, every win
Green is the ugliest color
Eating him alive from somewhere just under the skin
He doesn’t want your life exactly
Just the parts that make his hollow
Green
Mean and quiet
Following him home

Here’s the part nobody says out loud:
Envy isn’t really about you
It’s a finger pointing inward
At the unlived life
The unchosen door
The version of himself he locked in a room at twenty-two
And told to keep it down
Every person he resents
Is just a mirror, slightly tilted
Showing him the shape
Of what he’s been
Too afraid
To want
For himself

So he keeps attending everyone else’s victories
Keeps that smile calibrated
Keeps the green
Pressed down under the collar
Where it doesn’t show
Much
Where it doesn’t show
Too much
Where it
Barely
Shows
At all

Haunted by Her Touch
I saw her standing in the moonlight, eyes burning with a twisted delight
Her cold hands reached for me, pulling me into the night
The air grew thick, the silence screamed, a haunting melody
Her touch, her voice, they’re all I need to see

The shadows wrap around my throat, her whispers take control
Each step I take, I lose my soul, as she buries me in this hole
Her breath is sharp like a razor blade, cutting deep within my veins
In the grip of her madness, I’m lost in the pain

Haunted by her touch, can’t break free
A ghost in the night, she’s all I see
Every scream I make, she pulls me under
Haunted by her touch, I’ll feel her forever

I try to run, but her whispers follow, like a curse that won’t let go
Every corner I turn, I’m swallowed whole, no escape from this hell I know
The mirror cracks, I see her face, the one that haunts my sleep
Her eyes burn like fire, pulling me deep

Her fingers trace my skin, cold as the grave
I’m drowning in her love, but I never asked to be saved
Every step she takes, I fall further in
Trapped in her web, never to begin again

Haunted by her touch, can’t break free
A ghost in the night, she’s all I see
Every scream I make, she pulls me under
Haunted by her touch, I’ll feel her forever

Her grip tightens, no more light
I’m lost in the shadows, forever her fight
Haunted by her touch, it’s all I know
Forever in her grip, there’s no way to let go

Haunted Heart
In the midnight hour, she calls my name
A twisted lover, playing her wicked game
Her heart is haunted, her soul is cold
But she’s the one I can’t let go

Haunted heart, lost in the past
She’s a ghost, but I’m bound to last
Her touch is poison, but I need the sting
Haunted heart, forever my king

She wears a crown made of sorrow and pain
Her love is a curse that I can’t explain
I feel her shadows, creeping near
But I can’t run, I crave the fear

Haunted heart, lost in the past
She’s a ghost, but I’m bound to last
Her touch is poison, but I need the sting
Haunted heart, forever my king

Her whispers haunt me when I sleep
In the darkness, her secrets creep
I know I’m lost, but I don’t care
Her haunted love is what I wear

She’s a specter in my dreams, so near
But when I wake, she disappears
Yet in my chest, her echo remains
A haunted heart, she’ll always claim

Haunted heart, lost in the past
She’s a ghost, but I’m bound to last
Her touch is poison, but I need the sting
Haunted heart, forever my king

Haunted heart, forever I’ll stay
In the shadows, I fade away

Heart of Stone
In the darkness, I feel the cold, a shiver down my spine
There’s something lurking deep inside, a beast that calls to mine
Shadows crawl across my soul, it’s never ending night
I hear it whisper in my ear, “Come on, join the fight”
Crawling through the hollow streets, I find the devil’s lair
Every step I take, I feel it, like the weight of my despair

Heart of stone, no turning back
I’ve lost my mind, I’m on the track
Staring down the blackened road
With nothing left, no place to go
Heart of stone, my soul’s been sold
In this nightmare, I’ve grown cold

The walls are closing in on me, there’s nowhere I can hide
I feel the chains that bind my mind, they pull me from inside
Laughter fills the emptiness, it echoes through my brain
A twisted trick, a wicked curse, it’s driving me insane
Every breath I take feels like it’s just a little more
I’m trapped inside this hollow world, a prisoner of war

Heart of stone, no turning back
I’ve lost my mind, I’m on the track
Staring down the blackened road
With nothing left, no place to go
Heart of stone, my soul’s been sold
In this nightmare, I’ve grown cold

In the silence, I hear the screams, from voices deep within
It’s too late now, the door is closed, I’ll never find my way again
A thousand faces, all the same, they haunt me every night
No escaping from the darkness, no end to this cruel fight

Heart of stone, no turning back
I’ve lost my mind, I’m on the track
Staring down the blackened road
With nothing left, no place to go
Heart of stone, my soul’s been sold
In this nightmare, I’ve grown cold

Heart of stone, heart of stone, nothing left but this
Trapped forever in the abyss, where darkness holds its grip
Heart of stone, the end is near, no one hears my cry
In the nightmare, I live and die, and I’ll never ask why

Hellbent Love
She’s got the eyes of a devil, heart cold as steel
Staring you down, daring you to feel
Every step she takes, she drags you in deeper
And you can’t stop, no, you won’t be a keeper

Hellbent love, burning like a fire
You’re craving the pain, you’re caught in the wire
Hellbent love, wrapped around your soul
She’s got you screaming, you’re losing control

Her lips are poison, a kiss to die for
One touch, and you’re begging for more
She plays with your mind, leaves you paralyzed
Her love’s a weapon, and you’re hypnotized

Hellbent love, burning like a fire
You’re craving the pain, you’re caught in the wire
Hellbent love, wrapped around your soul
She’s got you screaming, you’re losing control

Every night’s a battle, a war in your head
You keep coming back, even when you’re misled
She owns the darkness, controls the fight
In the chaos, you find your delight

Hellbent love, burning like a fire
You’re craving the pain, you’re caught in the wire
Hellbent love, wrapped around your soul
She’s got you screaming, you’re losing control

Hellbent love, it’s all you can see
A twisted affair, you’ll never be free
Hellbent love, forever you’ll burn
In her arms, you’ll never return

Her Goodbye Was a Loaded Thing
She wore grief like silk, tight across her skin
Said goodbye like a promise she’d break again
Eyes full of storms she never let touch land
I kissed her like I owed her my scars
Thought loving her hard would bend the bars
But she was born to vanish–smoke in my hands

Her goodbye was a loaded thing
Smiled while she pulled the pin
Left me bleeding in the wreck of what we meant
There ain’t no song for what she stole
Just an echo in my bones
You don’t heal when the pain still pays the rent

She kept all the photos, I kept her ghost
I still hear her laugh when I’m close to comatose
Some hearts haunt instead of break
The sheets remember more than I do
Her scent’s a bruise I never move through
I’d scream if silence hadn’t claimed the space

Her goodbye was a loaded thing
Cold lips, soft voice, and a razor sting
She didn’t leave me–she left everything
I sleep where we used to sin
With a past I can’t outrun or skin
And her name is the sharpest part within

Hooked on the Chaos
Got a small problem, yeah, I can’t sit still
Life’s a hurricane, and I love the thrill
Got my name on a list at the club downtown
But I’ll probably get kicked out before I sit down

I’ve been drinking up drama like a sweet red wine
Stirring up trouble just to pass the time
They say I should settle, should act my age
But that sounds boring, let’s set fire to the place

Hooked on the chaos, living too fast
If it ain’t a disaster, it ain’t gonna last
Burn every bridge, light up the night
Tell me I’m wrong while I prove that I’m right

Last week I woke up in a stranger’s car
Didn’t know the name, but I stole their cigar
Took a little joyride, left a note on the dash
“Your taste in music sucks, but thanks for the crash”

Got a bad reputation, yeah, they all complain
But they keep coming back just to watch the train
I break all the rules, then rewrite ’em twice
My life’s a circus and I love the price

Hooked on the chaos, living too fast
If it ain’t a disaster, it ain’t gonna last
Burn every bridge, light up the night
Tell me I’m wrong while I prove that I’m right

You say I’m reckless, you say I should change
But where’s the fun in playing it safe?
You call it toxic, I call it fate
I’ll quit when I’m dead, but it’s gonna be late

Got an ex-girlfriend who still calls me up
Just to cuss me out, but she loves this stuff
Says I’m a mess, but she’s worse than me
We make bad look good like a symphony

Let’s start a riot, let’s raise some hell
If we’re going down, might as well do it well

Hooked on the chaos, living too fast
If it ain’t a disaster, it ain’t gonna last
Burn every bridge, light up the night
Tell me I’m wrong while I prove that I’m right

Yeah, I might crash, yeah, I might fall
But at least I can say I had a damn good brawl
Pour one out, make a toast to the fight
Because I’ll be back raising hell by the end of the night

I’d Worship the Crack in Your Armor
You are fuel, fire, and hurricane,
hitting me like a blacktop sunrise after too many nights chewing gravel
and regret

You were always the fucking storm.

Last Kiss of the Serpent
She slithers in, her eyes full of fire
A snake wrapped in soft, she feeds on desire
Her lips like poison, venom in every kiss
She leaves you breathless, caught in the abyss

Last kiss of the serpent, sweet as hell
She’s got you trembling, under her spell
Her poison’s dripping, burning through your veins
It’s too late to run, you’re lost in the flames

The night’s alive with whispers and screams
Her fingers trace your skin, unraveling dreams
She pulls you closer, but you can’t break free
A slave to her touch, drowning in ecstasy

Last kiss of the serpent, sweet as hell
She’s got you trembling, under her spell
Her poison’s dripping, burning through your veins
It’s too late to run, you’re lost in the flames

In her venomous grip, you taste the end
A lover, a liar, a beautiful sin
She coils around you, squeezes you tight
The last kiss of the serpent–your final night

Leash
Apartment always smelled like old incense and microwave heat
Curtains half-closed, dust on the TV, dust on the sheet
I’d drop my bag, sink into that gray couch sag
Believing you needed company, not seeing the flag

The room felt harmless: warm lamp, fan rattling in the corner
Playlists looping the same four songs, order and disorder
But the crack showed the night you asked where I’d been
Voice low but sharp, cutting under the skin
Counting my absences like unpaid debts
You smiled soft, but I haven’t forgotten the threats
Hand closed on my wrist, tight enough to understand
Closeness wasn’t the point–it was the upper hand

You called it caring
I felt the leash tighten
You said you couldn’t lose me
But the grip was frightening
What you wanted wasn’t friendship to hold
It was just something to control

The machine was familiar: the gratitude trap
“I’m only looking out for you,” closing the map
Tallying favors I didn’t ask to receive
Scripts about loyalty, how you’d never leave
The brutal detail? You reordered my plate
Said you “knew what I liked better,” sealing the fate
I thought, “Don’t correct them, don’t start a fight”
Stopped being a friend, became a project that night
I wasn’t innocent, I let the praise hook
Let the guilt steer me every time that I looked
Told myself loyalty mattered, kept the peace
While you were busy signing the lease on my time

You called it caring
I felt the leash tighten
You said you couldn’t lose me
But the grip was frightening
What you wanted wasn’t friendship to hold
It was just something to control

Don’t tell me you “meant well”
Don’t call me dramatic for wanting a life
Don’t pretend you didn’t corner me with strife
With tears, with that soft tone right after the sting
If you need proof the spell broke, here’s the thing:
The last time you reached for my wrist
I didn’t fold, didn’t justify, didn’t exist
For you. I just stepped back
And your face gave it away–not hurt, not confused
Just anger
Because I wasn’t yours to abuse

You called it caring
But I felt the leash snap
You said you couldn’t lose me
But I’m off the map
What you wanted wasn’t friendship to hold
I’m not yours to control

The couch is still there
Playlists still looping
I’m gone

Leave But Dont
Leave, But Don’t

You make coffee and bruises the same
Soft hands, hard voice, no shame
Say I’m the storm you had to tame
But you’re the flame–I’m just the blame

You kiss me hard, then twist the knife
Say, “This is what you get for life.”
And I nod like I agree
Even as you hollow me

Leave, but don’t
Hurt me, but stay
Every time I pack, you beg, you pray
And I forget how pain feels wrong
You break me sweet, then hold me long
I should go–but I won’t
Leave, but don’t

You cry when I find my keys
But your promises cut like glass
And the good times never last
Friends say run, they say “Wake the fuck up”
But I’m hooked on your poison cup
Every slap comes with a kiss
And every night ends like this

Leave, but don’t
Choke me soft
Build me up, then tear me off
I don’t know who I am in the light
But I sure know how you fuck me right
I should leave–but I won’t
Leave, but don’t

You don’t hit me with fists or chains
Just guilt and gaslight and calling me names
And somehow, I still crawl to bed
Whispering I love you while I see red

I tried once–I made it to the door
But your silence pulled me to the floor
“You’re nothing without me.”
And maybe, babe… maybe that’s me

Leave, but don’t
Hurt me kind
Your voice is carved inside my mind
You break my bones with what you say
Then beg me not to walk away
I should run–but I won’t
Leave, but don’t

And maybe tomorrow
I’ll grow a spine
But tonight…
You’re mine

Love in the Ashes
We burned it all down, watching cities fall
Love was a fire, but it wasn’t enough at all
She held my heart like a flame in her hand
And I fed it with gasoline, never planned

Love in the ashes, we’re dancing through the night
Nothing left but shadows and firelight
Love in the ashes, we’re alive in the flame
Never looking back, never playing the same

The streets were screaming, but we were too loud
Trashed in the wreckage, we were standing proud
Everything’s broken, but we didn’t care
Love was a weapon, and we were armed and bare

Love in the ashes, we’re dancing through the night
Nothing left but shadows and firelight
Love in the ashes, we’re alive in the flame
Never looking back, never playing the same

Now it’s just me, and I’m watching it burn
The embers of us are the lessons I learned
She’s gone with the wind, but I carry the spark
Forever igniting, we’re bound in the dark

Love in the ashes, we’re dancing through the night
Nothing left but shadows and firelight
Love in the ashes, we’re alive in the flame
Never looking back, never playing the same

Love My Way

I talk about eating people for fun.
I’ve got a dead goldfish collection.
I told you I’d peel your face off
and replace it with someone better looking.

I wrote you love letters
from hell’s point of view.
Shaved satanic symbols
into your cat.

You smiled and said you’d always be mine.

I had you committed for the holidays
so I could drink the bonus in peace.
Posted those pictures.
Told your father things no father should hear.

You said you loved me.
I asked why.
You blinked and called me a great guy.

So I swapped your shampoo with Nair
and I still can’t figure out
why you’re here.

I sold your TV. Wrecked your car.
Stole your wallet, hit the bar,
came home with a gift
that keeps on giving.

Wore your underwear when you weren’t looking.
Danced around in your bikini backwards.
Used your toothbrush for things
no toothbrush should see.

You found out.
You stayed.

It must be love.
Or you’re just insane.
Something’s broken in your brain.

Either way,
I think you like the pain.

Make You Cry

Your laughter echoes deep into the night
and your smile haunts every room
like something I can’t quite hold.

Everything looks perfect from here.
Bacon done right, mornings in sync,
Chapstick on your lips when we kiss.

But underneath it all, something gnaws.

I’ve seen you bare and glistening,
awake before coffee,
makeup smeared across the sheets,
your scent mixed with yesterday’s regret.
And all I can think is:
I want to make you cry.

Not from cruelty.
From missing me.

I want to know that if I disappeared,
you’d feel the hole.
That the days without me
would ache like something physical,
something you can’t shake off
or fill with anything else.

I want your makeup to run.
I want tears on your face
so I can taste the salt
and know I matter.

We’ve been happy. Untested.
And that’s the thing that keeps me up—
this fear that it’s all surface,
that the ease of us
means I’m replaceable.

Make me wrong.
Cry because you miss me.
Cry because the emptiness without me
is more than you can stand.

That’s all I want.
To know I’m in the place
where both the smiles and tears are stored.

Masks We Wear
Underneath the surface, a face you’ll never know
A thousand hidden layers, a heart that’s turned to stone
The mask you wear in public, is nothing but a lie
You’ve learned to hide the pain, but it’s killing you inside

Masks we wear, to hide the fear
Pretending to be perfect, drowning in our tears
We smile to the world, but inside we bleed
Hiding from ourselves, never letting us be freed

The weight of every secret, the scars they never see
You’ve got the perfect smile, but your soul is barely free
The world sees your success, your strength they all admire
But they’ll never know the truth, the pain that’s set on fire

Masks we wear, to hide the fear
Pretending to be perfect, drowning in our tears
We smile to the world, but inside we bleed
Hiding from ourselves, never letting us be freed

Behind the lies, behind the smiles
There’s a shadow lurking, waiting for a while
It whispers that you’re nothing, that you’ll never break through
But you’re stronger than the mask, you’re stronger than the truth

You’ve worn it for so long, don’t know how to let go
The mask has become you, it’s all that you know
But inside you’re screaming, for the chains to be undone
To face the world as you are, to see yourself as one

Masks we wear, to hide the fear
Pretending to be perfect, drowning in our tears
We smile to the world, but inside we bleed
Hiding from ourselves, never letting us be freed

Neon Shadows
In the shadows, love begins to fade
The streets are cold, but still, we linger on
We chase the light, but nothing’s ever made

The city’s heart is broken, dark, and frayed
Yet here we stand, pretending we belong
In the shadows, love begins to fade

The lights above, they burn so cold
A fire that dies as we grow old
Shadows fill the night
But love is lost, it’s out of sight

We hold each other tight, afraid to stay
But every step we take, we’re moving wrong
We chase the light, but nothing’s ever made

The lights above, they burn so cold
A fire that dies as we grow old
Shadows fill the night
But love is lost, it’s out of sight

Nothing to Apologize For
Nothing to apologize for in this room
Nothing to apologize for in the bloom
Of the clean desire, the pure and uncomplicated
Want, the honest and the celebrated
Physical reality of two people who want
Each other, nothing to apologize for, nothing to haunt

Nothing to apologize for, the clean desire’s clear
Nothing to apologize for standing right here
Nothing to apologize for in this honest room
Nothing to apologize for in the bloom

I spent too long apologizing for the want
I spent too long carrying the haunt
Of the unearned guilt about the clean desire
Now I’m standing in the honest fire
With nothing to apologize about
Nothing to apologize for, inside out

Nothing to apologize for, the clean desire’s clear
Nothing to apologize for standing right here
Nothing to apologize for in this honest room
Nothing to apologize for in the bloom

The clean desire has earned its right to stand
The clean desire is the honest hand
Extended toward the honest welcome true
Nothing to apologize for between me and you
The clean desire is its own defense
Nothing to apologize for makes sense

Nothing to apologize for, the clean desire’s clear
Nothing to apologize for standing right here
Nothing to apologize for in this honest room
Nothing to apologize for in the bloom

Nothing to Say

I’m standing there before you,
silence smothering the air.
You’ve told me everything you felt,
made it crystal clear.
Somehow you don’t know
what’s inside my tired mind.
I need to tell you something
before we’re out of time.

You say we just can’t communicate anymore.
You have no idea
what it is you’re waiting for.
One hand on the doorknob,
a pause, a teardrop in your eyes,
a look that is simply begging me
to not let you say goodbye.

My mind explodes in flashes
of the most vivid memories,
everything I see in you
flooding through me suddenly.
The silly way you giggle
at the random things I do.
Everything I know I truly love
about what is you.

The light striking the highlight in your hair.
Tripping in the morning
over your discarded underwear.
Coffee made so strong
it puts Starbucks right to shame.
The way you try to cheat
when we play video games.

The warmth of your smile,
your face shining in the light.
The comfort of your body
cuddled close to mine at night.
The way you try to heal
the pains I try to hide,
and quietly made your way
somewhere deep inside.

I don’t think I can breathe
without you in my air.
I don’t want to imagine
a life without you there.
The way you forgive me
when I won’t forgive myself.
The razors in the shower.
The perfume on the shelf.

I can see the sunshine
in everything you do,
the moonlight dancing in the air
surrounding you.
The way you breathe,
the way you look at me in the morning,
the way you try to heal me
and end the suffering.

I take silent solace
when we lay down to rest,
curled up behind you,
my hand cupped on your breast.
I can feel the heat of your skin
next to mine,
and every single minute
feels like the end of time.

And I can see the fireworks
going off inside your eyes,
a little piece of heaven
right between your thighs.
You’re everything I desire, lust, crave,
that I need.
You’re in every teardrop,
every drop I bleed.

The way you gasp breathlessly
when you receive me inside.
The way you sigh softly
when you look into my eyes.
Your dirty dishes in the sink,
shoes left on the floor.
Everything I am to you,
you mean so much more.

It’s all right here inside me,
pictures crystal clear,
everything you said
you needed to hear.
The turning of the doorknob,
and you are on your way.
I open my mouth to tell you everything,
to ask you please to stay.

It was the last chance moment,
just that one delay.
And I stand there with my jaw slack,
watching you walk away.
The words they never came to me.
I’ve nothing left to say.

Painted Lies
Beneath the surface, I wear a mask
To hide the scars that they can’t ask
Pretending I’m fine, but I’m falling apart
Trapped in a war that rages in my heart

Painted lies, they make me whole
Hiding the wreckage that’s in my soul
Behind the smile, I’m running from the pain
Painted lies, it’s all in vain

The world’s burning, but I’m standing still
Every breath’s a battle I can’t fulfill
The masks I wear, they never let go
They keep me chained in a life I don’t know

Painted lies, they make me whole
Hiding the wreckage that’s in my soul
Behind the smile, I’m running from the pain
Painted lies, it’s all in vain

The world’s falling apart, but I’ll never cry
I’ll play my part in this web of lies
A flicker of truth, buried beneath
In the silence, I hear my grief

The end is near, but I’m not afraid
I’ll burn in the ashes of all I’ve made
Behind the mask, I’ll fade into dust
A lie I’ve painted, a trust I’ve lost

Painted lies, they make me whole
Hiding the wreckage that’s in my soul
Behind the smile, I’m running from the pain
Painted lies, it’s all in vain

Panty Drop Heartbreak
She danced in like a shot of sin
Laugh too loud, drink too thin
Took your name, wrote it on her thigh
Then fucked it off by the morning sky

She’s the kind that ruins grace
Turns your bed into a crime scene trace
Told you you’re the only one
While another was gettin’ undone

She’s a panty drop heartbreak, red light queen
Sells you heaven with a savage lean
You chase her lips, she takes your pride
Leaves your soul in the passenger side
You call it love, she calls it a night
She’s gone by noon, but damn, it felt right

She’s got that perfume made of scars
Every step wrecks hearts like cars
You thought you’d tame that wild flame
Now you’re just part of her wicked game

Kissed you hard like a goodbye note
Stole your jacket, your cash, and hope
But you’d still crawl through broken glass
For one more taste of her snakebite sass

She’s a panty drop heartbreak, black lace spell
Dragged you down while you thought you fell
She don’t beg, she don’t explain
Just fucks the guilt out of your shame
You call it fate, she calls it a ride
She wrecks your world with her tongue tied

You swore you’d never beg again
Then came her laugh through the motel vent
You played the game, but she wrote the rules
Now you’re one more notch in her book of fools

She’s a whisper in the strip club air
A rumor told in a bathroom stare
You swear you’re done, but you’ll be back
That scratch still burns beneath your back

She’s a panty drop heartbreak, cold and sweet
With lipstick lies you ache to repeat
You say you hate her, swear you’re clean
But every dream still ends obscene
She don’t do love, she don’t do time
She just fucks and leaves you blind

Patina of Time
Time wears us down
Like metal left in the rain
The years don’t pass without leaving their mark
A slow burn
A quiet fade
I see the patina on our love
A glow that only age can bring

We once shined like gold
But now the rust clings to us
And yet, there’s beauty in the tarnish
In the way we’ve weathered the storm
Every wrinkle tells a story
Every scar, a chapter

The patina of time
It softens the pain
And though we’ve changed
Our love remains
A burnished glow, a softer light
We loved, we fought, and now we’re right

I used to fear the rust
The way it dulls the shine
But now, I see the beauty in the cracks
The strength in what’s survived

The patina of time
It softens the pain
And though we’ve changed
Our love remains
A burnished glow, a softer light
We loved, we fought, and now we’re right

Phantom Limb Lover
She’s been gone so long

into my mouth.

Plain Enough
I’ve arrived at the station of plain enough man
Somewhere between the remarkable and also-ran
A face that gets smiled at in passing in stores
That opens enough though it don’t open all of the doors
A face that’s decent and does what it should
Plain enough is my familiar neighborhood

Plain enough, and it took me some time
Plain enough to accept what is mine
Not the beautiful face, not the room-shifting glow
Plain enough and I’m starting to know
That a plain enough face with enough of the rest
Plain enough can still build the best

I used to want the other guy’s sharp cut of jaw
Used to watch the beautiful ones and just stare in awe
Wished for the eyes, the height, the frame
Now I just live in my own ordinary plain
And find it sufficient for what I need
Plain enough is a late-arriving creed

The beautiful fade and the plain-faced men
Find that the years are great equalizers and then
The face that you fought against starts to just be
The face that holds everything that is me
And plain enough feels almost exactly right
Plain enough living in my own plain light

Poison Is a Pet Name Now
You don’t need chains when the leash is soft and the collar says “I’m fine”
I built excuses like a temple, prayed at the altar of your temper
Love, I heard loyalty, and now I can’t tell the fucking difference

Your kisses came wrapped in ultimatums, your touch like ice with teeth
I learned to flinch like second nature,
smiled through the bruises you left in my head
And every “I’m sorry” you whispered just sounded like “stay”

Poison is a pet name now, and I drink it like it’s wine
Every fight a ritual, every silence timed
I know you’re killing me slow–but you do it in such a familiar way

I started lying to mirrors, calling this control “protection”
You dressed your rage in roses, and I swallowed thorns just to keep the peace
Said I was lucky, said I was loved–just never said I could leave

You never hit me with fists, but your words were blunt enough to knock me out
And now I’m the ghost in my own life,
tiptoeing through your moods like mine don’t matter
They don’t, do they? I’ve been rewired to crave the cage

But one day, when you sleep, I’ll remember who I was before your voice
I’ll spit out the poison, even if I bleed on the way out
Because surviving you will be the only love song worth singing

Pretty When It Burns
She moves like heaven, talks like hell
Every kiss a loaded spell
And I light it up just to feel clean
Nails like mercy, eyes like storms

We break the bed, then break the rules
Play war games in lover’s tools
She’s pretty when it burns–God, I know
Twists the blade but makes it slow

Sits like sin across my leg
Can’t run, can’t stay, can’t breathe, can’t learn

We scream in whispers, sleep in shame
Her lies taste sweet, her truths are steel
She makes the hurt feel fucking real
Still frame smiles that watched us fall

I watch her dress, she watches me
She’s pretty when it burns–no disguise
She claws my throat then makes me moan
Builds me up just to dethrone

Still–she’s pretty when it burns
There’s lust in every wound we carve
We don’t talk–just shatter skin

Her voice still calls from every room
And I swear I’ll go–but I never do
Since breaking free would mean losing you

She’s pretty when it burns–fire-fed
Lives in my lungs and fucks my head
And I kneel like I’ve been trapped
Can’t stop, can’t fix, can’t break, can’t yearn

She kisses like chains
Even angels sometimes
Clip their own wings

Reproductive Disagreement

We stood in the kitchen, brittle quiet hanging over the countertops, her hands tracing circles on the laminate as if polishing a bruise she couldn’t name
I tried to swallow the tension, but it hit the nerves in my jaw, that old tremor of wanting one future while she clung to another like a shield she couldn’t lower

She said a child would drown her, said her lungs already fought for space, said the world scraped too hard for her to risk splitting herself open just to raise another fragile thing inside the wreck
I stared at the knife block pretending it steadied me, pretending the word father didn’t scorch through me every time someone joked about legacy or bloodlines or what a man leaves behind

She wasn’t cruel; she was tired, and terror makes its home in the tired, burrowing deep until even love feels like a bargaining table stacked with penalties
I told her I’d wait, but waiting stretched thin, the kind of thin that snaps with a whisper, not a roar

We slept back-to-back that night, her spine a wall I once worshipped, now a border crossing I didn’t have the visa for

[Chorus]
We’re stitched together by want and wound, held tight by threads we fray
Your future builds a shelter while mine begs for another day
We love in different languages that neither of us can say
And every dream we craft together drifts a little further away

The morning came in grey like a photograph of regret, light filtered through blinds she’d chosen for a room she wanted kept small
I heard her breathing change, that half-awake panic where the body remembers what the mind tried to file away
She rolled toward me once, just once, and her eyes were glassy, like windows fogged from the inside

In my chest the wanting hummed, a dull machine that wouldn’t idle, and I hated it for being so loud when she needed silence
I thought about my father’s hands, big and rough and always reaching for mine, and I ached for that, ached to be that, ached for the sound of someone calling me by a name I hadn’t earned yet

She must have felt the shift, the way sadness has its own gravity, because she touched my wrist, featherlight, like testing whether glass would hold
We didn’t speak–just breathed in tandem, two ghosts rehearsing lullabies for children who never arrive

I pictured a small hand gripping mine, imagined the weight of responsibility like a star lodged in my ribs, heavy but luminous
And then I pictured her face–drawn, cornered, unraveling at the thought–and guilt surged, acidic and sharp, because wanting something she feared felt like treason dressed as hope

We tried again in the morning, voices hushed, each word chosen like stepping across thin ice
She said she loved me, said she wished she wanted what I did, said she hated herself for failing at a dream she never had
I said nothing worth keeping, just traced circles on my coffee cup like she had on the counter, mirroring grief without knowing how to dismantle it

The distance in the room thickened until it felt like a third presence, something uninvited, something that fed on dilemmas too personal to name without bleeding
I kissed her forehead knowing it wasn’t a repair, just a temporary ceasefire, a way to hold the fragile place between her nightmares and my longing

Her shoulders shook, not from fear of me, but from fear of losing herself in a future that didn’t fit her shape
And mine shook too, from the fear that desire this deep might be the wedge that splits us clean

[Chorus]
We’re stitched together by want and wound, held tight by threads we fray
Your future builds a shelter while mine begs for another day
We love in different languages that neither of us can say
And every dream we craft together drifts a little further away

Restricted
She pulled me close, then locked me tight
Said, “Tonight, you don’t earn the right.”
Her hands like law, her voice a chain
And every inch just stoked the flame

No begging works, no pleading wins
She smiled and whispered all my sins
Said, “You’ll only get what I allow
So crawl, boy. And do it proud.”

I’m restricted, bound by breath
Starving for the taste of death
She gives me just a drop, then stops
Lets me drown in her slow shocks
Restricted, fucked by grace
She owns the rules, I chase her pace

She tied my will behind her knees
Made mercy drip in silent tease
No safe word spoken, none allowed
She just said, “Be good, stay loud.”

Each second stretched like molten steel
Every denied touch more real
She touched my chest, then stepped away
And whispered, “That’s enough today.”

I’m restricted, trained by lust
Made to ache, made to trust
She feeds me need, denies me more
Locks my hunger behind her door
Restricted, left on edge
Craving worship at her ledge

She said, “The game is mine to play
And you’ll come when I say.”
And fuck if that didn’t make me burn
For every second she made me yearn

Now I wait, and I obey
Her silence louder than decay
She walks by like holy sin
And I beg just to breathe her in

Restricted, blessed by chains
She’s the high that owns my veins
I shiver, ache, and take her lead
Because power’s sweeter when you bleed
Restricted, nothing less
And I’ve never needed more than this

No release
No regret
Just her command
And how I sweat

Rotten Heart
Your smile is a lie, I see through the mask
You played the game, now you face the task
Betrayed by your hands, the love that I sought
The pain is deep, and now you’re caught

Rotten heart, you’ve torn me apart
No love left, just a broken start
You played the game, now you must fall
Rotten heart, you’ll pay it all

The trust you destroyed, it can’t be repaired
Left in the ruins, alone and scared
The echoes of lies, they ring in my ear
You whispered “forever,” but now it’s clear

Rotten heart, you’ve torn me apart
No love left, just a broken start
You played the game, now you must fall
Rotten heart, you’ll pay it all

I tried to forgive, but it’s too late
Your lies are the poison, sealing my fate
You tore me down, left me for dead
Now I’ll rise from the ashes, filled with dread

The chains are broken, but the scars remain
Your rotten heart, it caused me pain
No more illusions, no more lies
I’ll watch as your world crumbles and dies

Rotten heart, you’ve torn me apart
No love left, just a broken start
You played the game, now you must fall
Rotten heart, you’ll pay it all

Pay it all, you’ll pay the price
Rotten heart, sacrificed

Rust and Ruin

Never did I suppose that the antiquated, rust-eaten vehicle of my grandfather could unfurl into a saga of sheer horror. Upon inheritance, it was more than a relic of rusted metal; it was a phantom from our lineage’s past, an echo of forgotten stories and buried memories. A desolate husk of chrome and iron languished in my driveway, an abandoned fragment of days gone by, its once proud silhouette now hunched in defeat. The sunlight struggled to pierce through the grime that clung to its surface, casting a spectral glow that hinted at the magnificence it once exuded—a splendor now reduced to a mere shadow beneath layers of dirt, corrosion, and neglect. Each time I glanced at it, a peculiar sense of duty compelled me to breathe life into this dormant beast that seemed to sigh under the weight of its own history.

As a child, hushed murmurs of its shadowy past were passed down like clandestine whispers over supper, the kitchen filled with the aroma of simmering stew while my grandmother’s voice quivered as she recounted tales. “Your grandfather never spoke much about that car,” she would say, her eyes clouded with distant memories. “But there were accidents… terrible ones.” My grandfather, an inscrutable figure cloaked in mystery and reticence, seldom expanded on his cryptic history; he would simply gaze out the window, lost in thought, as if each memory was a ghost he dared not confront. With his demise, the automobile was bestowed upon me—a riddle wrapped in an aura of mystique that beckoned me closer, urging me to uncover its secrets.

The restoration became my obsession—a blend of nostalgia and obligation that consumed my weekends like a moth drawn to flame. The garage morphed into my sanctuary where I delved into the car’s decay—peeling back layers of age with the meticulousness of an archaeologist unearthing treasures long buried. As I sanded off the rust and replaced dilapidated fragments with shiny new ones, every component restored felt like a small victory in revealing the car’s concealed charm. Yet as I labored on, an unsettling feeling gnawed at me—the sensation that something sentient lurked beneath the rust and metal; it was as though the very essence of the vehicle was alive, watching me with an intensity that made my skin prickle.

The anomalies started subtly—an errant breeze brushing against my neck or a fleeting shadow skirting the edge of my vision. Initially dismissed as fatigue-induced hallucinations or figments of an overactive imagination spurred by its tangled history, they grew more frequent and insistent—almost as if the car’s dormant spirit was stirring, desperate to reveal its secrets. I would often find myself pausing mid-sanding, heart racing as a chill coursed through me, glancing around the dimly lit garage for reassurance that I was alone.

One evening, while engrossed in polishing the dashboard until it gleamed like obsidian under the flickering fluorescent light, a vision struck with the ferocity of a lightning bolt. The garage seemed to melt away around me, replaced by an unending, shadow-draped highway stretching infinitely into darkness. The restored car roared down this spectral road, its lustrous surface reflecting the dim moonlight as though it were alive again. Inside, a heavy tension hung in the air; shadows danced and contorted in time with the car’s movements. The headlights pierced through a foggy chaos, illuminating glimpses of twisted faces frozen in terror—eyes wide with unspeakable dread—as they mouthed silent screams that echoed in my mind. The horror seeped into my veins like poison as if I were trapped within this macabre tableau; I could feel their despair wrapping around me like chains.

As I recoiled from the vision, my heart pounding like a war drum against my ribcage, reality snapped back into focus with a jarring clarity. Yet the residual terror clung to me like an ghostly shroud that refused to dissipate. The visions escalated in frequency and intensity; each night I worked under the dim garage lights felt increasingly surreal and charged with an electric energy. It was as though the car was exhaling its ominous history into the present—echoes of screams and screeching tires intertwined with metallic clangs of destruction haunted my waking hours and even seeped into my dreams.

Fueled by fear and defiance, I delved into the vehicle’s past with an urgency that bordered on desperation. What emerged was a chilling revelation—newspaper clippings concealed within dusty archives painted a grisly portrait of tragedy. Each brittle page revealed stories laden with sorrow: tales of brutal collisions where metal crumpled like paper and lives extinguished in an instant. “The Phantom Roadster,” one headline declared ominously above grainy photographs depicting mangled wreckage strewn across asphalt; another chronicled inexplicable disappearances linked to this very car—untimely deaths that seemed too numerous to be mere coincidence. As I dug deeper into these shadows, it became evident that this automobile wasn’t merely an innocent bystander but rather an active participant in these horrific incidents.

The boundary between past and present began to blur alarmingly as my investigation continued—the visions evolved into immersive experiences where I unwillingly relived its grim history in vivid detail: skidding tires on wet asphalt echoed in my ears while faces flashed before me—eyes wide with terror before their violent end—a whirlwind of metal and blood engulfing them whole. My nights turned into battlegrounds between reality and nightmares as I grappled with these haunting revelations.

Desperation gripped me tighter than any fear could; I needed to sever this spectral link that tethered me to those lost souls. I consulted historians whose eyes widened with intrigue at my tale; paranormal investigators who nodded knowingly as they scribbled notes; spiritualists who spoke in hushed tones about dark essences lingering within objects imbued with tragedy. Their suggestions varied from rituals involving intricate symbols drawn in salt to elaborate exorcisms meant to expel malevolent forces—each more implausible than the last. But amid swirling dread and determination, I was desperate enough to try anything.

One evening, under the guidance of a local spiritualist whose presence felt both comforting and unnerving simultaneously, I conducted a cleansing ritual within the confines of my garage transformed into a sacred space filled with flickering candles casting long shadows against cold concrete walls. Swirling incense smoke curled around us like tendrils of forgotten prayers as we chanted incantations aimed at expelling its dark essence from our midst. Just as I felt hope begin to swell within me—a sudden gust of wind swept through the space extinguishing candles one by one—the darkness swallowed us whole. An eerie silence ensued, punctuated only by my racing heartbeat echoing ominously against oppressive walls.

In the aftermath of our fervent plea for release, the oppressive atmosphere lifted momentarily; unease lingered still like smoke refusing to dissipate completely. The haunting presences diminished; yet even as relief washed over me like cool water on parched skin, it was tinged with residual unease—a whispering doubt lurking just beyond reach.

Months have passed since that fateful ritual; now the car remains undisturbed in the garage—its rusted frame standing silent yet menacing—a chilling proof to shadows lurking within seemingly innocuous objects. It stands vigil over memories forged from sorrow—the ghosts intertwining their stories with mine—a constant reminder of how easily the past can bleed into the present—of how history holds an enduring power to haunt and shape our lives even when we wish for nothing more than peace.

Rust on My Skin
The rust has settled on my skin
A lifetime’s worth of love and pain
The years have turned, and I begin
To wonder what we tried to gain

A lifetime’s worth of love and pain
Is carved into the lines I wear
I wonder what we tried to gain
When all we have is fading air

Rust on my skin, a life grown old
A story that was never told
We loved, we fought, we broke apart
Now rust remains where once was heart

Is carved into the lines I wear
The wrinkles of the time we spent
When all we have is fading air
I ask what love was ever meant

Rust on my skin, a life grown old
A story that was never told
We loved, we fought, we broke apart
Now rust remains where once was heart

Rusted City
This city’s built on broken dreams
On rusted metal, on cracked-up schemes
We thought that love could find its place
But now we’re lost in empty space

The streets are paved with lies we told
The nights grow darker, the world too cold
We hold our hearts like they’re made of stone
But rusted love can’t stand alone

In the rusted city, we fall apart
A place that’s corroded every heart
The steel is strong, but we’re too weak
A love we lost, a truth we seek

We walk in circles, chasing time
Through alleys filled with broken rhyme
But every turn just leads us back
To a city built on what we lack

In the rusted city, we fall apart
A place that’s corroded every heart
The steel is strong, but we’re too weak
A love we lost, a truth we seek

Rusted Love

In the twilight of a city drowning in its own neglect, I, Clara Matthews, found myself back in New Haven, a place once alive but now a shadow of its former self. The city was collapsing, its steel and glass skeletons groaning under the weight of years of decay. Once, this place had been charged with ambition, dreams, and hope; now it was a sprawling ruin, a decayed monument to the ravages of time. Among the crumbling structures and deserted streets, I was drawn back to the echoes of my past–to James Carter, the man whose love had once defined my world.

New Haven had always been a city of dreams, a canvas of possibilities. Yet, as I roamed its derelict avenues, the stark contrast between the city’s present state and my memories was jarring. The skyscrapers, once symbols of progress, now stood as hollowed-out sentinels of failure, their glass facades cracked and grimy. The streets, once teeming with life, were now silent, save for the occasional rustle of debris stirred by a restless wind.

The cafe where James and I had spent countless hours was now a ghostly shell of its former self. The once-cheerful spot where we had shared so many moments was now shrouded in dust and disrepair. I pushed open the door, the bell above it emitting a mournful chime that seemed to mourn the passage of time as much as I did. Inside, the dim light illuminated the ruin of what had once been our refuge.

There he was, James, sitting alone at the table by the window, the one that had been our favorite. His face, weathered by time and the weight of our shared history, was a map of regret and lost opportunities. His eyes, though older, still held the spark of the man I had once known so intimately. As he looked up and saw me, his expression was a mixture of surprise, sadness, and a touch of something else–something I couldn’t quite place but that made my heart ache.

“Clara,” he said, his voice a rough whisper, as if he had been waiting for this moment in a dream. “I didn’t expect to see you again.”

The years seemed to collapse into that single moment. “Neither did I,” I replied, my voice trembling with a blend of nostalgia and sorrow. “But here we are, in a city that’s falling apart just like we did.”

We sat down, and as I looked around at the desolate cafe, memories flooded back. I recalled our laughter, the warmth of our shared dreams, and the gradual erosion of those dreams as our love faltered. Each corner of the cafe seemed to hold a fragment of our past, a record of the love that had once been so full of promise but had succumbed to neglect and decay.

James began to speak, his voice cracking as he struggled with the weight of his words. “I’ve thought about us so many times,” he said, his eyes fixed on the worn table between us. “I’ve regretted not fighting harder, not trying to hold on to what we had.”

I nodded, tears threatening to spill. “I’ve thought about that too,” I admitted. “We both let things rust and corrode. We let our fears and insecurities eat away at the foundation of what we built together.”

We spent hours talking, our conversation a mix of regret, reflection, and painful honesty. We revisited old arguments, retraced steps we had taken wrong, and spoke of what might have been. It was like peeling away layers of rust from a once-pristine surface, revealing the damage beneath.

The more we talked, the more apparent it became that the issues between us were as deep and pervasive as the decay surrounding us. The city’s decline mirrored the disintegration of our relationship–a once-promising future now marred by the corrosive effects of time and unresolved issues. The old wounds that had never healed seemed to fester anew, and every attempt at resolution felt like a futile effort against the relentless tide of the past.

As night fell and the city outside was swallowed by darkness, the reality of our situation became clear. The city’s collapse and our relationship’s failure were intertwined, both victims of a relentless process of decay. The cafe, once a symbol of our love, was now a relic of a bygone era, much like our relationship.

We parted ways as the darkness deepened, each of us carrying the weight of our past and the knowledge that some things, once broken, cannot be easily mended. James took my hand, a gesture that was both familiar and strange. “Clara, I’m grateful we had this moment,” he said softly. “But I know that what we had is gone.”

I squeezed his hand, my heart heavy with the finality of it all. “I know,” I said, my voice breaking. “But I hope we both find a way to move forward, even if it means leaving the past behind.”

As I walked away from the cafe, the city’s desolation seemed to close in around me. The streets were silent, the buildings stood as silent witnesses to a world that had once been full of life. The rust of our past had been laid bare, a painful reminder that some things, once corroded, are beyond repair.

In the end, the collapse of New Haven and the end of our love were intertwined–both victims of time’s unrelenting corrosion. As I left the city behind, I carried with me the bittersweet realization that while some loves rust away, their echoes linger, shaping who we are and who we become.

Silent Wounds
I hide in the shadows of my broken mind
A world so cold, the pain undefined
My heart is shattered, my soul’s a lie
Silent wounds, I can’t deny

Silent wounds, they never heal
A love so deep, it’s all too real
Beneath the scars, I lose my way
Silent wounds, I’ll never break

I carry the weight of a love that’s gone
A ghost in my head, still hanging on
The nights are long, the days are grey
Silent wounds, they won’t fade away

Silent wounds, they never heal
A love so deep, it’s all too real
Beneath the scars, I lose my way
Silent wounds, I’ll never break

Every tear I shed, it’s a memory’s chain
Cursed to walk through this endless pain
But I still hear her voice in the dead of night
Silent wounds, I can’t make it right

The darkness lingers, the silence screams
Haunted by a love that once was a dream
The wound is deep, but I can’t let go
Silent wounds, I live in the sorrow

Silent wounds, they never heal
A love so deep, it’s all too real
Beneath the scars, I lose my way
Silent wounds, I’ll never break

Silent wounds, a love that’s lost
Silent wounds, no matter the cost

Slow Poison
She moves through a room like smoke nobody lit,
a fog that rolls in low and settles where I sit,
in my stomach and my chest and somewhere deeper still,
and every eye follows but she’s hunting for the kill

Her smile’s not a smile, it’s an open door,
a crack that lets something through with teeth and more
patience than intent, elegant and slow,
and she’s chosen me tonight — my resistance is spent

She doesn’t hurry, never hurries, why would she
when every second of delay compounds what I owe,
and I’m stacking up a debt at a ruinous rate,
watching her approach like weather, gorgeous and late

Slow poison moving through the smoke and noise,
every sway a sentence I cannot refuse,
I’m the willing and the wanting and the fool,
slow poison, and I’ve got nothing left to lose

She stops beside me, doesn’t speak, just stands
close enough for me to catalogue her hands,
warm skin and dark perfume and something wilder underneath,
and I’m filing for surrender, bones already bent

The silence between us lasts three heartbeats, maybe four,
and in each one I live an entire year
of wanting something I shouldn’t name in public,
of imagining what happens when she leans in close

Slow poison moving through the smoke and noise,
every sway a sentence I cannot refuse,
I’m the willing and the wanting and the fool,
slow poison, and I’ve got nothing left to lose

She breaks the silence with a word I barely hear,
spoken low and aimed directly at my chest,
and whatever she said, the answer’s already yes,
and she knows it, walking off to let me burn the rest

Soft Spot For Lost Causes

You bring home strays in human form
the ones who chew through every leash and burn every hand that tries to hold them still
You say you are done falling for leather jackets and sad eyes
yet your heart keeps signing new leases on that same steep hill
There is a shelf in your mind full of rescue stories
starring people who never learned how to stay
You tape their pictures to the wall with notes that say “maybe this time” while everyone else just walks away.

You love the friend who cancels every plan
who promises sober mornings then sends apologies smelling like gin and remorse
You pick them up from bar floors and strangers’ porches
wash them off with bad coffee
trying to steer them off a collision course
You fall for lovers who flinch when you say “forever
” looking like they’re ready to run or be hung

You learn the art of holding out your arms without asking for anything
loving the “almost” and the stupidly young.
You say you are fine with this role
the patron saint of people who crash before the second act
Yet your chest feels heavier each time
like swallowing glass is just a matter of fact
No one writes warning labels on hearts like yours

nobody tells you how hard the impact.
You have a soft spot for lost causes
for the “no way” and “too late” and “they will only drag you down
” You keep betting on long shots
kissing the foreheads of people who are determined to drown
If love is a war
you are the medic crawling under fire toward the idiot who dropped their shield

Soft spot for lost causes, bleeding in the open
refusing to ever leave the field.
Sometimes you see yourself in them
in the shaky hands and runaway eyes and jokes that hide the ache
In the way they ruin every good thing before it leaves
just to feel some twisted control over the break
You remember nights calling from a bathroom stall with makeup running down your head

And the single voice that answered at three in the morning became the rope that pulled you back from the dead.
Maybe that is why you cannot stop
why you keep reaching out even when friends say “enough
don’t start
” Because walking away feels like leaving your own ghost to freeze on the side of the road with a broken heart
So you keep handing out blankets and patience and every spare beat of your heart.

You have a soft spot for lost causes
for the “no way” and “too late” and “they will only drag you down
” You keep betting on long shots
kissing the foreheads of people who are determined to drown
If love is a war
you are the medic crawling under fire toward the idiot who dropped their shield
Soft spot for lost causes, bleeding in the open

refusing to ever leave the field.
One day you look in the mirror and realize the biggest lost cause is staring back with your eyes
The one who stayed up nights stitching everyone else’s wounds while ignoring your own cries
You whisper “fuck, I forgot to save myself” and laugh
because that’s how the story always ends
Then you sit down, bandage your own knees
call a number, and let someone else make amends.

You have a soft spot for lost causes
and tonight that cause is you
All the broken things you hid so you could play the saint just passing through
If you reach out a hand tomorrow, that is fine
that is who you are
Just promise to keep one palm open for yourself when the next disaster walks in from the bar.

Soft spot for lost causes
soft voice saying “I am not giving up yet
” Dark nights, heavy eyes, stubborn as hell
the safest bet.

Stained Streets
These streets are stained with broken dreams
Nothing here is what it seems
We thought we’d rise, we thought we’d fly
But now we’re left wondering why

The city’s taken all we had
Left us broken, bruised, and sad
Our love’s been torn apart by the fight
Now all we do is fade into night

Stained streets, where love turns cold
Where hearts are bought and souls are sold
We tried to run, we tried to hide
But in the city, we lost our pride
Stained streets, we’ve bled too long
We thought we’d win, but we were wrong
Now we’re left with nothing to gain
Stained streets, full of love and pain

The lights are dim, the shadows fall
We used to stand, but now we crawl
The city took what we couldn’t give
Now we’re just fighting to live

Stained streets, where love turns cold
Where hearts are bought and souls are sold
We tried to run, we tried to hide
But in the city, we lost our pride
Stained streets, we’ve bled too long
We thought we’d win, but we were wrong
Now we’re left with nothing to gain
Stained streets, full of love and pain

We thought we’d rise above the storm
But the city’s cold and far from warm
Now we’re just echoes of what we knew
Stained by the city we fell into

Stained streets, where love turns cold
Where hearts are bought and souls are sold
We tried to run, we tried to hide
But in the city, we lost our pride
Stained streets, we’ve bled too long
We thought we’d win, but we were wrong
Now we’re left with nothing to gain
Stained streets, full of love and pain

Stained streets, we fade away
In this city’s grip, we’ll never stay

Starting Over Beside You
The year I lost my job — not fired, restructured,

is one of the fastest ways to get to the other side.

Subcutaneous
Under the skin.

hard and fast.

Suspended
I’ve been living in the space between the almost
The not-yet and the wanting and the ghost
Of everything I haven’t done but intend to do
The whole world is suspended here with you

Not a bad place, not a cold or empty zone
It’s charged with everything that’s still unknown

Suspended in the wanting, hanging in the air
Between the reaching and the not-yet-there
Suspended in the current of the in-between
The sweetest kind of tension I have ever seen

I ain’t in a hurry to resolve this thing
I like the weight of what the wanting brings
The possibility that lives before the fact
The desire whole and perfect, fully intact
Before the getting comes and changes it
This wanting is a fire that’s fully lit

Suspended in the wanting, hanging in the air
Between the reaching and the not-yet-there
Suspended in the current of the in-between
The sweetest kind of tension I have ever seen

There’s a kind of richness in the unfulfilled
The wide-open wanting, broad and filled
With everything that hasn’t happened yet
That perfect open space I don’t regret
Suspended in this state, I feel alive
This wanting is the thing that makes me thrive

Suspended in the wanting, hanging in the air
Between the reaching and the not-yet-there
Suspended in the current of the in-between
The sweetest kind of tension I have ever seen

Take Me Back
I found your sweater on the chair where you left it in a hurry,
and it felt like a quiet hand still resting on the room
I read our old messages like a map drawn by a better draft of me,
and every line points back to what I couldn’t say
I kept acting brave with my mouth full of excuses,
while my heart was shaking in the dark like a kid behind a door
If I could rewind the night we broke the fragile part of us,
I’d choose my words like glass I never meant to throw

I’m not asking for a miracle that erases all the damage,
I’m asking for one honest minute in the open air
Let me stand where you can see me without the noise around me,
let me tell you what I never had the spine to share

Take me back to the beginning of that moment,
when your eyes still trusted mine to stay
I’ll lay down every prideful little weapon,
and I’ll speak like a man who finally learned to pray
I’m sorry for the distance I created, for the cold I carried into your warm day
If there’s a way to make it less than broken,
I want to start again and do it clean this time

I watched the streetlights blink in patterns like they knew our history,
like they were counting all the chances I let slip
You used to laugh at how I overthink the smallest things,
then I turned that habit into walls and called it being “safe”
I tried to fix my fear by tightening every screw around us,
and the pressure cracked the frame I swore I’d protect
Now I’m sitting with my hands empty in the silence,
learning that control is just a costume for regret

I’m not asking you to forget the nights you cried in secret,
I’m asking you to let my truth finally arrive
Let me hold the blame without performing,
let me be the one who doesn’t run when love gets real

Take me back to the beginning of that moment,
when your eyes still trusted mine to stay
I’ll lay down every prideful little weapon,
and I’ll speak like a man who finally learned to pray
I’m sorry for the distance I created, for the cold I carried into your warm day
If there’s a way to make it less than broken,
I want to start again and do it clean this time

If you say it’s finished, I will carry it with honor,
I will walk away and stop begging at your door
Yet if there’s one small corner left for healing,
I will meet you there without my armor anymore
I don’t want a perfect story for the outside,
I want the messy version where we both stay in the room
Give me a chance to listen like I mean it,
give me a chance to love you without leaving

Take me back to the beginning of that moment,
when your eyes still trusted mine to stay
I’ll lay down every prideful little weapon,
and I’ll speak like a man who finally learned to pray
I’m sorry for the distance I created, for the cold I carried into your warm day
If there’s a way to make it less than broken,
I want to start again and do it clean this time

The Conversation That Fixed Itself
We were heading into something that I could feel would not be great,

The conversation that fixed itself is my favorite kind of found.

The Corrosion Within

I want you to imagine a city that thrums with ambition and greed, where the pulse of progress beats loudly above and the echoes of resistance murmur below. My name is Jordan Hale, and I’ve seen the city’s underbelly like few others, from its secret hideaways to its most hidden factions. This is the story of how an underground rebellion, fighting against the relentless advance of corporate exploitation, found itself undone not by external forces, but by the rot within.

This city, a sprawling maze of concrete and steel, once glittered with promises of prosperity. It was a place where dreams were built, only to be torn down and replaced by gleaming towers of luxury. The skyline was transforming, each new building a monument to corporate ambition. They called it progress, but to us, it was nothing more than a relentless wave of displacement and greed.

In response, a clandestine group known as the Underground emerged. We were the defenders of the city’s soul, a coalition of activists, artists, and ordinary people who refused to be swept aside by the encroaching tide of gentrification. Our mission was clear: resist, sabotage, and protect what was left of the city’s character. We operated in the shadows, disrupting construction sites, organizing secret meetings, and rallying the community to our cause. We were the city’s last line of defense, and our unity was our strength.

But unity, as I would come to learn, is a fragile thing. It was during one of our most important operations that I first noticed the cracks. The plan was simple: sabotage the groundbreaking ceremony for a new high-rise that would erase a beloved neighborhood. We had infiltrated the event, positioned ourselves strategically, and waited for the perfect moment to strike. The operation was meant to be our grandest act of defiance, but something was off.

As we made our final preparations, I overheard fragments of conversation that chilled me. Phrases like “deal” and “arrangements” floated through the air, disconnected from our mission. I couldn’t shake the suspicion that something was wrong, but I kept my concerns to myself. Doubt, after all, was a luxury we couldn’t afford. Our leader, Sam, was our guiding light, our strategist and our voice. Charismatic and shrewd, Sam had led us through countless victories. But on that day, there was a coldness in his demeanor, a detachment that I had never seen before.

The operation itself was a disaster. Our carefully laid plans unraveled, and the ceremony went off without a hitch. The sense of betrayal was immediate and raw. As we regrouped in our hidden enclave, the mood was tense. Fingers were pointed, accusations were hurled, and the fragile bond that had held us together began to splinter. Sam, once a pillar of strength, struggled to regain control, his authority faltering in the face of mounting dissent.

In the weeks that followed, the internal fractures grew deeper. Our meetings, once full of purpose and solidarity, became battlegrounds of suspicion and mistrust. The lines between friend and foe blurred as whispers of betrayal became more frequent. The very fabric of our resistance was unraveling. I found myself questioning the loyalty of everyone around me, including my own role in the movement. Were we all just pawns in a larger game? Had our fight against the corruption of the outside world become tainted by the very corruption we sought to combat?

The situation came to a head one fateful night when we received a tip-off about the imminent demolition of a historic building. It was to be our boldest move yet, an act of defiance that would put us back in the spotlight. But as we prepared for the operation, it became clear that our inside source was no ally. The betrayal was complete, and we walked straight into a trap. The ensuing chaos was devastating. Our plans were exposed, our members scattered, and Sam was captured.

In the aftermath, the city’s streets seemed to echo with the sound of our defeat. The once-proud resistance lay in ruins, its spirit crushed by the very people it sought to protect. The skyscrapers that rose in defiance now stood as monuments to our failure. The external threat remained, but it was our internal collapse that had sealed our fate.

As I wandered through what was left of our fight, I couldn’t help but reflect on the lessons learned. The city, with its towering structures and crowded streets, would continue to evolve. But for me, the real battle had been against the corrosion within–against the erosion of trust and the decay of unity. It’s easy to point fingers at the external forces of corruption and greed, but the true danger often lies within our own ranks.

The Underground’s rebellion was a spark of resistance, but it was undermined by our own internal decay. The corruption we fought against had found a home in our hearts, and it was that rot that brought us to our knees. It’s a hard truth to swallow, but one that we must all confront.

In the end, the city’s story is one of resilience and ruin, of battles fought and lost. The skyscrapers will rise again, and the city will continue to change. But the echoes of our failures will linger, a reminder that the greatest threat often comes from within. We fought valiantly against the external forces, but it was the corrosion within us that truly destroyed our cause. The real battle, it seems, is one we must fight within ourselves every day.

The Distance Between Us Now
It wasn’t a fight—there’s no clean story to this,

The distance between us: bridgeable. In time.

The Fires Gone
The Fire’s Gone

We once burned with a fury, a force like no other
But the flames died down, now it’s just me and no one to cover
The heat is gone, the ashes are cold
The love we had, turned into something so old

The fire’s gone, nothing left to ignite
We’re just memories in the dark of the night
The fire’s gone, we’re just smoldering ash
Left with nothing, but a love that couldn’t last

We danced in the flames, but now we’re burned
The lessons learned, but no one’s concerned
The promises fade, and the laughter is lost
What we had came at such a heavy cost

The fire’s gone, nothing left to ignite
We’re just memories in the dark of the night
The fire’s gone, we’re just smoldering ash
Left with nothing, but a love that couldn’t last

Now I walk through the ruins, alone in the dark
Searching for the spark that once left a mark
The fire’s out, there’s no more to say
Just a cold emptiness, leading me astray

The fire’s gone, nothing left to ignite
We’re just memories in the dark of the night
The fire’s gone, we’re just smoldering ash
Left with nothing, but a love that couldn’t last

The Haunting Echo

In the echoes of a haunted house, where silence reigns and shadows douse
Haunted by whispers that yearn

In the abyss where darkness lies, sanity dies
Voices whisper in the night, filling the soul with endless fright

Walls close in with a suffocating grip, thoughts scatter and begin to slip
Eyes dart wildly through the haze, searching for light in an endless maze

Visions twist in every corner, past and present blur in disorder
Mirrors show faces not their own, reflections of horrors unknown

Voices echo in a ghostly chorus, sanity shatters with their force
A heart pounds in desperate fear, haunted by what is near

In the maze of a broken mind, where every breath is confined
Shadows dance and whispers grow, pulling deeper into woe

Scribbled notes on a tattered wall, desperate pleas before the fall
Hands that tremble with unseen pain, caught in a storm of mental rain

Eyes see horrors in the dark, every thought leaves a mark
Reality bends and finally breaks, leaving sanity in its wake

Ghostly fingers touch the soul, filling every corner with a cold control
Visions shift in the dim light, turning peace into endless fright

Curtains sway without a breeze, unseen forces bring unease
Footsteps echo in the hall, a presence that chills and enthralls

Eyes see phantoms at the door, shadows that twist and explore
A heart races with silent screams, lost in a world of broken dreams

In the stillness where shadows creep, every silence hides secrets deep
Fear wraps tight in a binding grip, sanity begins to slip

Voices call from the unseen dark, leaving a lasting mark
A mirror reflects a stranger’s face, a haunting visage out of place
Hands reach out but find no hold, in the grip of the creeping cold

Walls seem to close and bend, as reality begins to end
A life caught in a spectral trance, forever lost in a silent dance

In the depths where shadows blend, the echoes of insanity never end
Voices whisper twisted lore, haunting tales from a forgotten war

Hallways stretch into the dark, where every step leaves a mark
Walls adorned with cryptic scrawl, madness etched in every hall

Figures lurk in shadowed places, haunting eyes with hollow faces
A heart pounds in frantic flight, fearing the phantoms of the night

In the echoing depths of a haunted mind, shadows of the past are intertwined
Each whisper a shiver of fear, drawing near

Lost in the maze of the unseen, where nightmares reign supreme
A wanderer without rest, haunted by a spectral quest

Voices cry from empty cells, echoing tales of hidden hells
Eyes peer through barred gates, watching as reality disintegrates

Sanity teeters on a fragile line, as shadows dance in ghostly rhyme
Scratches mark the walls of pain, trapped in an eternal maze

Steps echo in the vacant halls, chasing phantoms that call
In the abandoned theatre’s gloom, where shadows whisper of doom
A mind begins to lose its way, haunted by phantoms in disarray

Whispers fill the empty space, a heart pounds with rising dread
Eyes peer from behind the scenes, watching as sanity careens

Mirrors show faces out of place, reflections of a spectral chase
Whispers rise from the empty floor
In the darkened corner of the room, a shadow watches with silent gloom
A mind begins to twist and tear, haunted by the watcher’s stare

Whispers crawl from unseen lips, tightening sanity’s grip
A presence that beckons and enthralls
Hands reach out from the unseen
A heart races in the still night, lost in the watcher’s sight

Every silence hides a silent cry, caught in the watcher’s unseen eye
Lost in a world of hidden fears, haunted by what lies near

No refuge found, no place to hide, in the depths where nightmares reside
A mind battles against the night, struggling to hold onto light

Trapped within an endless chase, searching for a forgotten place
Whispers carry tales of woe, in the place where sanity won’t go

Walls that breathe with every sigh, trapping those who dare to try
No escape from the silent cries

Shadows move with silent grace, leaving a lasting trace
A life ensnared by unseen eyes, forever lost in silent ties

In the house where echoes dwell, every room a ghostly cell
Whispers drift through hollow walls, resonating eerie calls

Fear lingers in the quiet air, a presence felt everywhere
A struggle against unseen foes, where the haunting echo grows

In the depths where shadows play, every step leads minds astray
Fear wraps tight in a binding chain, pulling down into the pain

Scribbled notes on walls of woe, desperate pleas from long ago
Hands that tremble with unseen dread, haunted by the silent dead

The Heart of Ash
In the city’s heart, we stood and fell
A place where love and fear collide
We whispered lies we couldn’t tell
And hid the truths we had to hide
But every flame burns into ash
And every word becomes a scar

The nights grew long, the days too harsh
We wandered streets with bleeding hearts
Our hands were warm, but love was cold
The kind of love that tears apart
We thought we’d find a way to heal
But in the end, we lost it all

The heart of ash, it burns away
A love too weak, too far astray
We whispered fire, but found the dark
A city lost, a broken spark

The city sleeps, but we’re awake
Afraid to feel, afraid to trust
We held the fire close inside
But watched it crumble into dust
And now, the streets are filled with pain
Where once we walked as if we’d reign

The heart of ash, it burns away
A love too weak, too far astray
We whispered fire, but found the dark
A city lost, a broken spark

The Heart of the City

It was late autumn, and the city was cloaked in a chill that seeped through the cracks of its glistening facade. The streets above thrummed with a relentless, restless energy, a cacophony of sounds and lights that belied the darkness hidden below. I, Jonah Cole, was drawn to that darkness, driven by an insatiable curiosity and a need to unearth the secrets buried beneath the city’s polished surface. Tonight, my journey would take me into the depths of the urban underground–a place that had long fascinated me with its whispered legends and eerie allure.

I had heard murmurs of a hidden part of the city, a forgotten zone where the city’s underbelly festered with decay and disillusionment. They called it “The Heart of the City,” a name that carried with it an air of grim mystery. The stories I’d gathered spoke of a subterranean world riddled with corruption, a place where the soul of the metropolis seemed to rot away in silence.

Armed with a flashlight, a leather backpack, and a journal for my notes, I ventured into the city’s depths, leaving behind the familiar hum of the urban sprawl. My descent began through crumbling service tunnels, their walls smeared with layers of grime and streaks of old graffiti. The air grew colder with each step, a sharp chill that settled in the bones. The only sounds were the distant echo of my footsteps and the occasional drip of water from the ceiling, a metronome of time passing in this forgotten world.

As I pressed deeper into the heart of the city, the familiar grime of the service tunnels gave way to something far more sinister. The walls around me transformed into a canvas of dereliction, adorned with grotesque murals that depicted scenes of decay and despair. The graffiti had evolved from mere street art into a chilling tableau of urban decay–a manifestation of the anguish and neglect festering beneath the city’s veneer. The once-bright colors of spray paint had long faded, leaving behind a dull, sickly hue that seemed to merge with the squalor.

I soon found myself in a vast underground chamber, its dimensions unsettling. The scale of the space was both awe-inspiring and horrifying. The chamber had once served some purpose, but now it was a monument to abandonment. The concrete floor was fractured and stained, the old fixtures rusted and fallen. In the center, a rotting wooden platform stood as proof of forgotten uses, while debris and shattered glass lay scattered like the wreckage of a forgotten dream.

The true shock came as I explored further into this chamber, discovering a series of rooms that seemed intentionally concealed from any casual observer. Each room I entered revealed a new facet of the city’s hidden decay. One room held a collection of old photographs, yellowed with age and smeared with dark, unidentifiable stains. The faces captured in those images were frozen in a hauntingly static moment–people whose lives had evidently ended in this forsaken place, their stories obliterated by time and secrecy.

In the heart of one such room, I stumbled upon a rusted table, its surface cluttered with the dust of years. Atop the table lay a ledger, its pages brittle and yellowed. I approached it with a mix of anticipation and dread, knowing that it held the keys to the city’s hidden darkness. As I opened the ledger, I was met with a grim catalog of betrayal, deceit, and moral erosion. Each entry detailed transactions of corruption, the names and dates of those who had used this underground space as their sanctuary from scrutiny.

The ledger was more than a record; it was a damning indictment of the city’s underbelly. The entries spoke of collusion between city officials and criminal elements, a hidden world where power and greed intertwined in secret. The transactions documented in those pages revealed a network of corruption, a hidden empire built on the backs of the city’s marginalized and forgotten. It was clear that this underground world was a mirror to the city above–a reflection of the moral decay that was concealed beneath the urban glitter.

With each turn of the page, I felt a growing sense of disillusionment. What I had sought as a hidden part of the city had instead unveiled the very essence of its darkness. The Heart of the City, with its physical and moral rot, was a grim reminder of the corruption that lay beneath the city’s bright facade. The urban sprawl above, with its gleaming skyscrapers and crowded streets, was merely a mask for the festering wound below.

Emerging from the depths, the contrast between the hidden world and the city above was jarring. The streets I had once known, filled with their energy and ceaseless motion, now felt tainted by the knowledge I carried. The city I had explored was no longer just a place of beauty and ambition; it was a construct built upon hidden rot and moral decay.

Even as I reentered the city’s bright, crowded life, the weight of what I had discovered lingered. The hidden heart of the city had revealed a profound truth–a reminder that beneath the surface of any thriving place lies a darkness waiting to be uncovered. The rot and decay I had encountered were not just physical but symbolic of the corruption that could consume even the most radiant of facades. The city’s heart, both hidden and exposed, stood as proof of the shadows that dwell beneath the surface of the urban dream.

The Last Dance of Sinners
The lights are dim and the floor is stained
A crowd of sinners, all deranged
We’re stepping in blood, no way to be saved
The last dance of sinners, no souls to be saved

Spin the wheel of fate, watch it fall
The last dance of sinners, hear the call
The fire’s rising, but it’s never enough
We’re burning together, in the flames so rough

They’ve sold their souls, the price is steep
No turning back, and they can’t sleep
We’re lost in the shadows, blind and bold
The last dance of sinners, damnation’s sold

Spin the wheel of fate, watch it fall
The last dance of sinners, hear the call
The fire’s rising, but it’s never enough
We’re burning together, in the flames so rough

And the music’s playing loud, the world’s on fire
We’re dancing in circles, fed by desire
The flames can’t take us, we’re too far gone
The last dance of sinners, we carry on

Spin the wheel of fate, watch it fall
The last dance of sinners, hear the call
The fire’s rising, but it’s never enough
We’re burning together, in the flames so rough

Dance with me, sinner, until the end
The final steps, where the chaos will blend
In the ashes of hell, we rise above
The last dance of sinners, forever we love

The Last Flame
The fire’s burning out, but the heat still feels the same
Ashes fill the air, nothing left but the pain
The world’s decaying slow, but we’re caught in the flame
Holding on to a dream that’s broken, but we’re still to blame

And the last flame flickers in the night
A burning truth, we can’t outrun the fight
The embers fall, but we’re not done yet
We’ll ride through the chaos, no regrets

The silence screams, like a ghost that haunts the past
We’re running in circles, but we’re never free at last
The world keeps spinning fast, but our future’s in the crash
We’ve sold our souls to the fire, now the end’s in our grasp

And the last flame flickers in the night
A burning truth, we can’t outrun the fight
The embers fall, but we’re not done yet
We’ll ride through the chaos, no regrets

We’ve built this world on broken dreams and blood
Watching it burn down, but we’re stuck in the flood
The ashes are calling, but we won’t say goodbye
The last flame will guide us, as we burn in the sky

And the last flame flickers in the night
A burning truth, we can’t outrun the fight
The embers fall, but we’re not done yet
We’ll ride through the chaos, no regrets

The last flame’s gone, but we’re still here to fight
The ashes still linger, but we’re walking through the night
We’ll carry the fire till the end of our days
And in the last flame’s light, we’ll find our way

The Last Graffiti

My name is Alex Rivera, and in the dead of night, under the harsh glow of city lights that never seem to sleep, I prepare for my final act of rebellion. The city sprawls around me like a beast wounded by its own greed, a concrete jungle where art is but a relic of a defiant past. Once a beacon of creativity in this gray wasteland, I now stand on the precipice of a fading era, ready to leave my mark before the darkness swallows me whole.

The city, a sprawling mess of steel and concrete, is suffocating under the weight of its own despair. Graffiti, once a proclamation of dissent, has been pushed underground, deemed illegal by those who govern from their glass towers high above. Every street is monitored, every alley scrutinized, as if the very essence of creativity were a crime punishable by the unrelenting forces of surveillance. The authorities, with their drones and cameras, are the silent sentinels, ever vigilant for those who dare to defy their monochrome mandate.

I chose the old railway viaduct for my final masterpiece. It’s a forgotten relic, a rusted structure that bridges the chasm between the past and the present. The viaduct is draped in decay, a monument to the city’s disregard for its own history. It stands abandoned, its once-majestic arches now tarnished and overrun with weeds, a forgotten monument to a bygone era. Its metal beams groan under the weight of time, their surface etched with the scars of neglect. This place, a graveyard of forgotten progress, is where I will make my final stand.

The night is cold and sharp, the chill seeping into my bones as I approach the viaduct. The city hums in the background, a low murmur of unrest and discontent. My breath forms clouds of vapor in the frigid air, mingling with the faint scent of rust and decay. The weight of my spray cans feels both familiar and foreign, their cool metal a constant reminder of the risk I am about to undertake. Each can is a vessel of rebellion, a burst of color in a world that has turned its back on the vibrancy of artistic expression.

As I reach the base of the viaduct, I pause for a moment, taking in the enormity of what I am about to do. The viaduct’s towering presence looms over me, a dark silhouette against the night sky. The graffiti that covers its surface tells a story of resistance, a hidden narrative of those who dared to paint in a world where art was forbidden. I have always been a part of that narrative, a voice in the chorus of dissent, but tonight, my voice will be the loudest.

I uncap the spray cans with a practiced flick of my wrist, the hiss of paint escaping the nozzle a sound both exhilarating and dangerous. The first stroke of paint hits the viaduct’s rusted surface, a splash of color that defies the drab uniformity of the city. As I work, the viaduct transforms under my hands. My graffiti is not just an act of rebellion but a declaration of my existence, a final defiant cry against the oppressive forces that seek to erase my creativity.

The colors flow from the cans like rivers of defiance, each hue a symbol of my resistance against the city’s grim reality. I paint with urgency, knowing that time is not on my side. The authorities are always watching, their drones a constant reminder of the price I might pay for my audacity. The viaduct becomes a canvas of hope, a beacon of rebellion against the darkening cityscape.

The phoenix I am painting is more than just a bird of fire; it is a symbol of resurrection and defiance. It rises from the ashes of urban decay, its wings spread wide in a gesture of resistance. Each brushstroke is a proclamation of my refusal to be silenced, a stand against the suffocating conformity that grips the city. The phoenix is my message to the world, proof of the enduring power of creativity in the face of oppression.

As I add the final touches, the distant hum of a patrol drone grows louder, its searchlight cutting through the darkness. My heart pounds in my chest, each beat a reminder of the danger that lurks nearby. The drone’s light sweeps across the viaduct, its beam illuminating my creation. I can feel the weight of impending capture pressing down on me, a heavy realization that my final act of defiance might be met with a swift and unforgiving response.

I gather my gear quickly, the clinking of cans and the rustle of my bag a symphony of hurried movement. The drone’s searchlight inches closer, its beam growing more intense. I make a dash for the nearest alley, the viaduct’s shadows swallowing me as I flee through the twisting streets. My breath comes in ragged gasps, each step a desperate attempt to evade capture.

The chase is relentless, the city’s mechanical enforcers closing in with a precision that is almost predatory. My escape route is a maze of darkened alleyways and forgotten pathways, each turn a gamble against the encroaching authorities. I navigate the urban landscape with the practiced skill of someone who has spent years evading detection, but tonight, the odds feel stacked against me.

Eventually, I find temporary refuge in an old warehouse, its walls lined with the wreckage of a bygone era. I crouch in the darkness, the sound of my pursuers fading into the distance. As I sit there, my thoughts return to the phoenix I painted–a symbol of hope and rebellion, a message that might soon be erased but will remain etched in the city’s memory.

Morning light filters through the cracks in the warehouse walls, casting long shadows across the room. I know that the authorities will soon discover the viaduct and my final masterpiece. My graffiti, once a bright expression of defiance, will likely be met with a harsh backlash. The city’s soul, already corroded and worn, will not tolerate such acts of resistance.

In the end, I realize that my final act was not about the permanence of my graffiti but about the fleeting nature of rebellion. My last mark is proof of the power of defiance, a reminder that even in the face of overwhelming odds, one can still fight for a glimmer of freedom. As the city continues its relentless march toward conformity, my phoenix will stand as a hidden beacon of hope–a rusted relic of rebellion amidst the urban sprawl.

The Last Kiss
You left without a word, I didn’t see it coming
The echo of your touch, now it’s gone, leaving me numb and stunning
The bed’s still cold, the air’s still thick with your scent
I thought we had time, but now you’re spent

The last kiss hangs in the air, but it’s never returned
A memory I can’t forget, no matter how much I burn
You walked away, but you left a scar so deep
Now all that’s left are the secrets we keep

I wonder if you think about me when the night falls
Or if you moved on, with nothing left to recall
I’m haunted by your ghost in everything I do
Every step I take, leads me back to you

The last kiss hangs in the air, but it’s never returned
A memory I can’t forget, no matter how much I burn
You walked away, but you left a scar so deep
Now all that’s left are the secrets we keep

I walk these streets, half lost and half alive
Trying to breathe in a world that’s deprived
Of the love we had, but you’re long gone
And all that’s left is this lonesome song

The last kiss hangs in the air, but it’s never returned
A memory I can’t forget, no matter how much I burn
You walked away, but you left a scar so deep
Now all that’s left are the secrets we keep

The last kiss lingers, like a shadow on my soul
I’ll keep searching for something that’ll make me whole
But I know deep down, it’s too late to repair
The last kiss is gone, and I’m still stuck in despair

The Mask of Pain
Behind the mask, I hide my tears
A life of torment, bound by fears
I wear this face, but it’s not me
The mask of pain is all they see

The mask of pain, it hides the truth
Behind the lies, I’ve lost my youth
The scars are deep, but I won’t break
The mask of pain, I’ll never wake

The mirror shows a fractured soul
A heart that’s lost, a spirit cold
I walk this path with shattered pride
The mask of pain, I cannot hide

The mask of pain, it hides the truth
Behind the lies, I’ve lost my youth
The scars are deep, but I won’t break
The mask of pain, I’ll never wake

I scream inside, but no one hears
The mask is perfect, it hides my fears
The battle’s over, I’ve lost the fight
The mask of pain, no end in sight

The mask is cracked, but I can’t flee
Trapped in my mind, a shadow’s decree
I’ll wear it till the day I fall
The mask of pain, it says it all

The mask of pain, it hides the truth
Behind the lies, I’ve lost my youth
The scars are deep, but I won’t break
The mask of pain, I’ll never wake

The mask of pain, forever my face
In darkness, I’ll live in disgrace

The Masks We Wear
The world’s crumbling, we’re too scared to fall
Hiding our tears behind a painted wall
Every smile a mask we wear, hiding the ache
Pretending we’re fine, but we’re starting to break

Behind the masks, we’ve forgotten who we are
Blinded by the lies, we’ve come so far
In the ashes of the past, we bury our pain
But when the smoke clears, will we rise again?

Faces in the mirror, but they’re not quite right
Walking through this hell with a shadowed light
The laughter’s hollow, the joy’s a disguise
Beneath the surface, the truth never lies

Behind the masks, we’ve forgotten who we are
Blinded by the lies, we’ve come so far
In the ashes of the past, we bury our pain
But when the smoke clears, will we rise again?

The end is near, but we’ve lost our way
Every day’s a battle, another price to pay
We fight the storm, but we’ve forgotten why
As the world burns, we just close our eyes

We wear these masks to keep from breaking down
In a broken world, we just wear the crown
The apocalypse is here, but we’re still in disguise
Hiding from the truth, pretending we’re alive

Behind the masks, we’ve forgotten who we are
Blinded by the lies, we’ve come so far
In the ashes of the past, we bury our pain
But when the smoke clears, will we rise again?

The Rusted City

Listen well, for I have a story to tell–a tale of urban decay, artful rebellion, and the relentless forces that sought to quash our sanctuary. I’m Jordan, a voice from the ruins of a city that once thrived but now languishes in the throes of decay. Let me draw you into the heart of a place forgotten by time, where the rust on its bones speaks of our struggles, our defiance, and the ultimate price we paid for holding onto what we cherished.

Once, this city was a place of towering ambitions and endless possibilities. Now, its skyline is a jagged silhouette of corrosion and neglect, an edifice of dreams that crumbled into dust. The grand avenues and lively streets, once alive with commerce and laughter, had surrendered to a creeping disrepair. The urban landscape, once a monument to human achievement, had become a graveyard of ambition, its rusting girders and peeling paint telling stories of lost glory.

In the midst of this decay, where the city’s heart had turned to iron and rust, we–a cadre of disillusioned youth–found our haven. Our refuge was not a grand palace or a pristine enclave but rather the shell of a forsaken factory. Its once-thriving machinery lay dormant, its cavernous spaces filled with echoes of a forgotten past. The factory’s walls, scarred by time and neglect, became our canvas–a place where we could defy the encroaching darkness with the bright hues of our rebellion.

This factory, with its skeletal frame and rusted pipes, was transformed into a gallery of defiance. Each wall held proof of our collective anger and creativity, splashed with graffiti that spoke of our dreams and disillusionments. Murals of fierce color and bold messages sprawled across the surfaces, their intricate designs a reflection of our inner turmoil and refusal to be forgotten. Every spray can stroke, every stencil laid down, was an act of rebellion against a world that had cast us aside.

As we built our sanctuary amidst the ruins, our community grew–a gathering of artists, dreamers, and revolutionaries who had found comfort in each other. We were a tribe of misfits, bound together not by shared success but by our mutual rejection of a society that had failed us. We held secret gatherings, our conversations brimming with plans and passions, each of us adding our voice to the chorus of resistance.

But even as we celebrated our haven, a new threat loomed on the horizon. The forces of gentrification began their slow but relentless advance, their sleek, modern visions encroaching upon our refuge. The city’s planners and developers, with their promises of renewal and progress, saw our sanctuary as nothing more than an obstacle–a blemish on their shiny new plans for revitalization. The factory that had been our refuge was now slated for demolition, its walls condemned to be replaced by glistening high-rises.

The encroachment of these developments was not merely a physical threat but a symbolic one. The glossy facades and pristine parks planned for our neighborhood were more than just new buildings; they were a direct assault on our identity and our existence. The murals that adorned our factory walls were now marked for erasure, our sanctuary threatened by the cold precision of urban planning.

The urgency of our plight became clear, and the once-quiet factory turned into a battleground of resistance. We organized with newfound vigor, our rallies and protests a desperate bid to save our home. Our art, once a personal expression, became a weapon of defense. We painted slogans of protest and hope across every surface, our messages of resistance becoming a rallying cry for our cause.

The nights were alive with activity, as we worked tirelessly to draw attention to our struggle. We held public exhibitions, performances that highlighted our plight, and creative demonstrations that painted our story for the world to see. Our efforts were met with resistance from the city’s powerful elites, their indifference and dismissiveness clashing with our passionate resolve.

Despite our fervent efforts, the machines of progress continued their relentless march. The factory, once the heart of our rebellion, was eventually torn down, its wreckage swallowed by the new developments that sprang up in its place. The new high-rises rose like sentinels, a stark reminder of the cost of progress and the erasure of our sanctuary.

Yet, even as our physical space was obliterated, our rebellion did not vanish with the debris. Our fight had inspired others, and the art and messages of resistance that had once adorned our walls spread beyond our enclave. Our struggle, though it seemed a battle lost, had ignited a fire of defiance that continued to burn in other parts of the city and beyond. The spirit of our rebellion lived on in the hearts and minds of those who saw our art and heard our voices.

As you listen to the tale of the rusted city and the defiant youth who fought to preserve their haven, remember this: even as the world changes and the past is erased, the spirit of rebellion and creativity endures. Our art, our voices, and our struggles became the echoes of a resistance that refused to be silenced. Embrace the rust, for it is a reminder of the time when we stood defiant against the forces that sought to reshape us, and it serves as a beacon for those who will continue the fight for their own sanctuaries.

The Silence That Said Everything
I said the wrong thing and I knew it before the sentence ended,

The silence that said everything said I was wrong.

The Smiling Woman
She was there at the crosswalk when the light turned red,

in the gap between the smile’s appearance and what it gives.

The Want and the But
I want you, that’s the first clause in the sentence
I want you and the sentence’s repentance
Comes in the form of the but that follows
The want that the conditions swallows
I want you but, and the but is real
The complicated want is how I feel

The want and the but, the sentence that I’ve got
The want and the but, the complicated lot
Of wanting you and knowing that it comes
With conditions, the want and the but sums
The but isn’t no, the but is the condition
The but is the complicated admission
That the want exists alongside the aware
The want and the but are the honest pair
Of truths I carry in the complicated want
The want and the but are the full account

The want and the but, the sentence that I’ve got
The want and the but, the complicated lot
Of wanting you and knowing that it comes
With conditions, the want and the but sums
I’ll honor the but even as I honor the want
I’ll hold both clauses in the face of the front
Of desire, the want and the but together
Make the honest sentence of the weather
Of my feeling, the complicated want
The want and the but, the full account

The want and the but, the sentence that I’ve got
The want and the but, the complicated lot
Of wanting you and knowing that it comes
With conditions, the want and the but sums

Through the Rust
Through the rust, I see the beauty shine
A love that’s weathered time’s relentless hand
Though years have passed, you’re still forever mine

The cracks upon your face are like fine wine
A mark of all the years that we have spanned
Through the rust, I see the beauty shine

Rust and love, they blend as one
A life that’s set with rising sun
Through age and pain, we stand so strong
For love is where we both belong

We’ve weathered storms that left us cold and blind
But still, we stand, a love that never planned
Through the rust, I see the beauty shine

Rust and love, they blend as one
A life that’s set with rising sun
Through age and pain, we stand so strong
For love is where we both belong

Two Mouths On One Wound
We sat in the car outside the hospice with the engine off and the air going sour,
your mascara making nervous rivers while my hands shook
so hard I dropped the keys in my lap again and again
You laughed this broken little laugh that sounded half like choking and half
like a skipped drumbeat, then you wiped your nose on my sleeve
and told me you were too tired to stand up straight anymore
We walked in slow motion through those sliding doors,
coffee breath and bleach in the hallway,
nurses drifting past like ghosts with clipboards and dead eyes
that had seen this a thousand times
You pressed your shoulder into mine
while the doctor rearranged words for dying into softer shapes,
and every syllable landed between us
like bricks in a wall we were suddenly building together without asking
if we wanted the house

Later that night in the kitchen you sat on the floor in your funeral skirt,
back against the cupboard, staring through the fridge
like it owed you answers it would never give
I poured whiskey into chipped mugs, knocked one over with my elbow,
watched it crawl along the linoleum
like a slow brown apology for all the shit none of us could fix
You reached for my wrist, gripped it so tight your nails left moons in my skin,
whispering you did not want platitudes or soft-focus lessons
or some cheap silver lining tied on with a bow from a greeting card aisle
You wanted someone who smelled like sweat and cigarettes and hospital soap,
someone close enough to hear every muffled howl in your chest without
asking you to translate it into tidy sentences for their comfort

We do not light candles for closure,
we flick ash into the sink and let the smoke burn our eyes
while we lean our foreheads together and tell the truth with our breathing
We do not say it will be alright,
we say this hurts like a car wreck in slow motion and we swear and we shake
and we hold on to whatever part of each other we can reach when the room spins
You cry into my shirt until it is stiff with salt,
I curse into your hair until my throat scrapes raw, two mouths on one wound,
sharing the sting so it does not own either of us alone
If there is anything close to love here it lives in the way we sit in the wreckage together,
no polished speeches, just your hand in mine
while the absence keeps howling through the walls

In bed you turned your back to me
and I could feel the tremors under your shoulder blades,
tiny earthquakes from all the words you would not let out
where the world could see
I slid closer till my chest fit against your spine, not to fix a damn thing,
just to be a warm barricade between you
and the next memory trying to kick down the door of your sleep
We did not kiss like movie stars or write some perfect script on each other’s skin,
we just tangled bare legs and clung hard enough to bruise
while the ceiling fan carved circles in the dark
You whispered their name into the pillow, then mine, then nothing,
and in that heavy silence I understood that what we were holding was not hope,
not even healing yet, just the right to keep breathing side by side in a house
that suddenly felt three sizes too big

We do not light candles for closure,
we flick ash into the sink and let the smoke burn our eyes
while we lean our foreheads together and tell the truth with our breathing
We do not say it will be alright,
we say this hurts like a car wreck in slow motion and we swear and we shake
and we hold on to whatever part of each other we can reach when the room spins
You cry into my shirt until it is stiff with salt,
I curse into your hair until my throat scrapes raw, two mouths on one wound,
sharing the sting so it does not own either of us alone
If there is anything close to love here it lives in the way we sit in the wreckage together,
no polished speeches, just your hand in mine
while the absence keeps howling through the walls

Some nights we still fight over dishes or money or bullshit traffic,
we throw sharp words like bottles in the hallway
and walk away shaking with old hunger and new rage
Then one of us will step on a memory left lying around and suddenly we are back in
that waiting room, back in that parking lot,
back in that stupid kitchen where nothing tasted like food for weeks
We do not apologize pretty, we just sag into each other on the couch with the television muttering in the
background and let our ribs line up again,
two damaged cages learning how to share the same wild animal
Your fingers trace the map of my scars,
mine rest on the hollow under your throat
where you swallowed every goodbye they never got to hear,
and we stay there until the noise in our heads
drops from a scream to a low steady burn

If that is love, it is ugly and honest and held together with swearing and sweat
and late night phone calls from the edge, and I will take it, sitting here with you,
while the missing piece stays missing and the world does not give a single shit

Unspoken Words
There’s silence in the air, it speaks so loud
We were once alive, now we’re just a cloud
Floating by, too far to reach
We’ve got the words, but none to teach

Unspoken words, trapped in our hearts
Left unsaid, tearing us apart
The pain we hide, the love we crave
Unspoken words, no one to save

The memories fade, but the scars remain
We never spoke, but we feel the pain
The love we lost, the chances we missed
Unspoken words, sealed with a kiss

Unspoken words, trapped in our hearts
Left unsaid, tearing us apart
The pain we hide, the love we crave
Unspoken words, no one to save

We were too afraid, too scared to speak
Now we’re left with the ache so bleak
The things we wanted, the things we need
Unspoken words, planted as seeds

Now we’re apart, we’re worlds away
The words are gone, they fade and stray
But I still feel it, the regret burns deep
Unspoken words, my soul to keep

Unspoken words, trapped in our hearts
Left unsaid, tearing us apart
The pain we hide, the love we crave
Unspoken words, no one to save

Unspoken words, forever we’ll bear
The silence is deafening, the air is bare

Urban Rust

In the heart of the city, where skyscrapers clawed at the sky and streets hummed with the ceaseless drone of life, Emma and I carved out a fragile sanctuary. My name is Alex, and I want to share with you the story of how love, once a bright beacon in our lives, struggled to survive amidst the relentless decay of an unforgiving urban landscape.

Our love story began with a spark that seemed almost miraculous in its intensity. I remember our first meeting vividly: a crowded cafe where Emma’s laughter pierced through the clamor of conversations and the hiss of espresso machines. She had a way of lighting up the room, her presence like a warm glow amidst the sterile cold of city life. It felt like destiny, like we had found each other amidst the chaos, two souls bound by a shared desire to escape the drudgery of urban existence.

Together, we built a life in the heart of the city. Our apartment was a modest refuge, a small haven that overlooked a cityscape littered with ambition and despair. The walls of our home bore witness to countless nights of laughter, to dreams whispered in the dark, and to plans for a future that seemed boundless in its possibilities. We made our sanctuary from the relentless grind of the city, from the cacophony of car horns and the never-ending clamor of construction. We tried to shield ourselves from the encroaching rust that threatened to tarnish our once-bright aspirations.

But the city has a way of gnawing at you, slowly, imperceptibly. The first cracks in our idyllic facade appeared almost unnoticed. It started with minor inconveniences: a leaky faucet, a flickering light bulb, a sudden spike in rent that left us scrambling to make ends meet. The apartment that had once seemed a cozy nest now felt like a cage, its walls echoing with the strains of our mounting frustration. The city’s relentless pace seemed to mock our attempts at maintaining any semblance of peace.

Our love, once an unshakable foundation, began to show signs of strain. We found ourselves at odds over trivial matters, our arguments tinged with the weariness of daily life. The bright conversations we once shared dwindled to practical exchanges about bills and schedules. The sparkle in Emma’s eyes, once so luminous, grew dimmer under the relentless pressure of urban existence. It was as if the city’s corruption was seeping into our very souls, eroding the love that had once seemed invincible.

The true impact of the city’s corrosion became starkly apparent on a night that should have been serene. The rain poured relentlessly, a torrent that seemed to drown out everything but our mounting fears. We had planned a quiet evening together, a chance to reconnect amidst the chaos. But the city’s noise was unrelenting: the shrieking of sirens, the pounding of construction, the blare of advertisements that seemed to intrude on every moment of solitude.

As I sat by the window, gazing out at the city’s illuminated chaos, Emma’s voice broke through the storm. She sat on the edge of our bed, her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Alex,” she said, her voice trembling, “do you feel like we’re losing ourselves to all of this? Like the city is eating away at everything we’ve built?”

Her words struck me like a cold gust of wind. I looked at her, my heart aching as I saw the vulnerability etched across her face. “It does feel like that,” I admitted, my voice heavy with the weight of truth. “It’s like the city is rusting away our dreams, one harsh reality at a time.”

The conversation that followed was a turning point, a moment of raw honesty that we had avoided for too long. We had to confront the reality of our situation: the city’s relentless demands were eroding not just our home but the very foundation of our relationship. The dream we had once held so dearly was becoming increasingly elusive, corroded by the daily grind and the unforgiving urban landscape.

In the days that followed, we made a conscious effort to reclaim what we could of our love. We sought out moments of respite, small escapes from the city’s clutches. We ventured to hidden corners of the city, places that still held a spark of enchantment amidst the decay. We started to revisit the reasons we had fallen in love, trying to reconnect with the passion that had once seemed boundless.

We also had to face the harsh truth that not every battle could be won. Some dreams would remain just out of reach, obscured by the rust and ruin of urban life. But we learned to adapt, to find comfort in the moments we could create, and to cherish the love that remained despite the city’s relentless erosion.

Our story is not one of ultimate triumph or grand resolutions, but of endurance and adaptation. The city continued to change, its skyline ever-shifting, but Emma and I found a way to navigate the rust and decay. Our love, though battered by the city’s relentless assault, was not without hope. It endured, finding beauty in the struggle and resilience amidst the corrosion.

In the end, our love story is proof of the power of perseverance. Even as the city sought to unravel everything we had built, we found strength in each other, holding on to the belief that love could survive–even in a world as harsh and unforgiving as the one we called home.

Voicemail to Nowhere
The kitchen clock is ticking like a finger on a trigger

Walls and Shadows
The walls were cracked, and shadows filled the halls
I hid from screams that echoed every night
My father’s rage, like thunder, always calls
A broken home, with nothing left in sight

The bottles lined the kitchen like a prayer
Gin and vodka whispered in the air
I learned to tiptoe, learned that life’s unfair
While maggots crawled where once we should’ve cared

In the shadows of my youth, I learned to fear
Every bruise, every word, every tear
I was a child in a war I couldn’t fight
Living in darkness, running from the light

The walls would tremble when his voice would rise
Thrown into sheets, my body left to bruise
I’d look for love, but only found goodbyes
A hollow child with nothing left to lose

My mother lost in pills and TV shows
Her silence louder than his drunken rage
I tried to speak, but every time I froze
A child trapped within a crumbling cage

In the shadows of my youth, I learned to fear
Every bruise, every word, every tear
I was a child in a war I couldn’t fight
Living in darkness, running from the light

Now as an adult, I still hear the sound
Of walls that crack and voices that collide
The scars of youth have never left the ground
I carry them, forever locked inside

In the shadows of my youth, I learned to fear
Every bruise, every word, every tear
I was a child in a war I couldn’t fight
Living in darkness, running from the light

Wet Ashes
She walks into the dream like smoke
Eyes like wounds that never close
Tongue like wine on overexposed
She speaks in gasps and finger tips

You don’t remember falling in
It’s just a dream, but it fucks like truth
You wake with nails still in your thighs
And sheets that whisper lullabies
But damn, you swear–
You’d die to sleep back there

A soft room, a mouthless moan
She rides your thoughts like haunted tone
And every breath pulls you back in

The ceiling cries in dripping heat
You claw at nothing, beg for more
But shadows hold the only door
It’s just a dream, but you still ache
Like a hunger you can’t shake
With lips like truth and scent like sin

You don’t know her face
The one that stains your dream
But you smell like sex that survived

No proof, no name, no calls to make
She only loves you in your sleep
And you’ll lie down each coming night
Hoping she drags you into bite

It’s just a dream, but it feels like fate
Wrapped in sweat and shadowed heat
And drown again in phantom hips

She’s not real
And you still reach
For what you are
You sleep in flames
And wake in need
To every dream she breeds

What I Didn’t Say
I was going to call you on that afternoon in fall,

And they hang there like they’re waiting for an answer that’s not there.

What I Told Myself It Was
I kept inventing softer versions of the truth,
threading excuses through the cracks in your voice,
pretending the distance was a phase
and not the shape you carved into every room we shared.

I said your quiet wasn’t dismissal, just fatigue,
the weight of your day bending your posture,
not the fading of interest you no longer bothered to disguise.
I told myself your rare sweetness meant more than the cold stretches between—
that warmth glimpsed once a month could anchor a future
built on frayed rope and wishful thinking.

When you pulled away during arguments,
staring past me as if cataloging exits,
I claimed you needed space, air—
anything but the simple fact
that I’d lost your attention long before I noticed.

I dressed your inconsistency as mystery,
convinced myself that complexity lived where apathy nested,
refusing to admit that wanting someone doesn’t make them heavy.
Our bed felt crowded with doubts you never named,
but I still traced patterns in your silence,
calling them love letters written in negative space.

On nights you left me mid-conversation,
eyes drifting toward some unseen horizon,
I whispered that you were dreaming big
and not dreaming elsewhere.
I rewrote every moment you didn’t choose me
into a scene where timing was cruel
and not you.

I clung to fragments—your hand brushing mine,
a rare laugh, that soft look once under streetlights—
as if they outweighed the way you flinched
when commitment’s shadow crossed your face.
I memorized the lies I made myself swallow:
that I was enough, that you were trying,
that our fracture was temporary
and not the natural state we lived in.

But truth crawled out from the corners eventually,
dragging its claws across the stories I stitched
to keep myself from shaking apart.
I woke one morning and felt the hollowness you left behind—
clean, quiet, almost elegant in its finality—
and knew that I’d been loving a mirage
I built to spare myself the bruise of recognition.

Still, part of me lingers in that fiction,
wandering the corridors of an imagined us,
gathering the dust of what never really existed.
And though I hate the weight of it, I admit
the sharpest pain comes from knowing
I lied to myself more skillfully than you ever did.

I called your silence patience, your distance something kind,
I painted every absence as a record redefined.
But truth kept scratching at the doorway that I locked inside—
what I told myself it was was just a way to stay blind.

Widows Lament
Widow’s Lament

She stands alone, the widow in black
Her heart is shattered, there’s no turning back
The man she loved is cold in the ground
Now she’s left to carry the sound

Widow’s lament, lost in the night
A broken heart, with no end in sight
She cries in silence, no one to see
Widow’s lament, forever to be

The days are long, and the nights are cold
She wears her sorrow like a crown of gold
The world keeps turning, but she stands still
A widow’s heart, trapped in the chill

Widow’s lament, lost in the night
A broken heart, with no end in sight
She cries in silence, no one to see
Widow’s lament, forever to be

The tears never stop, they flood her mind
A love lost forever, it’s so unkind
She carries the weight of the life she knew
Widow’s lament, all dreams untrue

She’s haunted by memories of what once was
Now she’s alone, with no reason or cause
The man she loved, now a distant ghost
Widow’s lament, forever lost

Widow’s lament, lost in the night
A broken heart, with no end in sight
She cries in silence, no one to see
Widow’s lament, forever to be

Widow’s lament, forever she’ll stay
In the shadows, she fades away

Worn Out Souls
We walk these streets, worn and torn
In a city where love’s reborn
But not for us, not this time
We’re losing each other, lost in the grime

Every step, we lose our way
Our hearts are heavy, turning to clay
I see the cracks, I feel the strain
We’re drowning in this endless pain

Worn out souls, we’ve lost the light
Fading away into the night
Every step we take, we break apart
The city’s crushed our fragile hearts
Worn out souls, we’re losing ground
In this noise, we can’t hear a sound
Our love was bright, but now it’s gone
Worn out souls, we can’t hold on

The buildings rise, casting their shade
Over the love that we once made
We thought we’d fight, we thought we’d stay
But the city wore us down, day by day

Worn out souls, we’ve lost the light
Fading away into the night
Every step we take, we break apart
The city’s crushed our fragile hearts
Worn out souls, we’re losing ground
In this noise, we can’t hear a sound
Our love was bright, but now it’s gone
Worn out souls, we can’t hold on

We’re falling fast, there’s no escape
Our love’s been drained, there’s no shape
Just hollow shells of what we knew
Now there’s nothing left of me and you

Worn out souls, we’ve lost the light
Fading away into the night
Every step we take, we break apart
The city’s crushed our fragile hearts
Worn out souls, we’re losing ground
In this noise, we can’t hear a sound
Our love was bright, but now it’s gone
Worn out souls, we can’t hold on

Worn out souls, we fade away
In this city’s grip, we’re led astray

Worn Threads
The threads of life are wearing thin
The fabric of our years undone
We loved, we laughed, we lost the spin
But still, we stand, though years have run

Our hands are worn, our hearts are slow
The fire we had has cooled to rest
But love, like time, is meant to grow
And even age won’t steal the best

Worn threads of life, but love remains
A bond that time can’t break or change
We’ve lived, we’ve lost, but still, we find
The love we’ve left is intertwined

The wrinkles tell a story told
Of love that’s lasted through the years
Though life has weathered us with cold
Our love has softened all our fears

Worn threads of life, but love remains
A bond that time can’t break or change
We’ve lived, we’ve lost, but still, we find
The love we’ve left is intertwined

Wretched Salvation
I’ve been damned from the day I was born
Waking up every night with a heart full of scorn
The flames of hell keep calling my name
I’m trapped in a world where nothing’s the same

Sin after sin, I’ve fallen so far
Pray for redemption, but I’m left in the dark
The blood on my hands, the scars on my soul
Walking this earth, but I’ll never be whole

I’ve sold my soul for a chance at the throne
But the price I’ve paid is the life that I’ve known
Betrayed by the angels, forsaken by grace
I’m left to rot in this desolate place

Wretched salvation, I’m begging for light
But the darkness keeps pulling me into the night
I’m drowning in guilt, I’m choking on pain
Wretched salvation, I’ll never be the same

I scream for a savior, but no one can hear
Alone in my suffering, gripped by my fear
The weight of my choices, it’s all I can bear
I’m haunted by demons, caught in despair

I thought I could rise, but I’ve fallen too deep
Now all that’s left is this promise I’ll keep
This is my curse, my never-ending fight
To find salvation in the heart of the night

I’ve given it all, but it’s never enough
The road to redemption is rocky and rough

Wretched salvation, I’m begging for light
But the darkness keeps pulling me into the night
I’m drowning in guilt, I’m choking on pain
Wretched salvation, I’ll never be the same

I’m locked in this hell, no chance to escape
Wretched salvation, my soul’s been erased
I’ve sold my soul for a moment of grace
Now I’m left with nothing, just shadows to chase

Your Depression Does Not Scare Me

You text me “I am sad again” in that flat tone that means the floor dropped out and you are already three layers down
Say everything tastes like cardboard
the music hits wrong
your body feels like a rental you forgot to return to town
You apologize before the rant starts
call yourself a drag, a black hole
a walking rain cloud in human shape

I hear you shifting the blame inward for a storm you did not schedule
like you hand built every twist in this tape.
You talk about days that feel like wet cement
every movement dragging ten invisible anvils behind your spine
Say showers hurt, sunlight hurts, being awake hurts
hope feels like a scam the rich invented to sell you some shine
You warn me not to get too close

say this is where people leave
where they call you too much, too dark, too lost
I picture every night you still chose to stay on this side of the ledge and think you do not give yourself enough credit for what that cost.
I have my own ghosts, my own blank days
my own heavy nights
so do not mistake me for some bright-eyed fixer in a cape
I just know that depression is a liar with good marketing

not a prophecy about who is worth the escape
You are not a cursed object
you are a person with a brain that sometimes lives under a tarp of gray tape.
Your depression does not scare me
it is not a warning label that tells me to walk away
It is a weather pattern that sucks
a long winter in your head that sometimes overstays

I am not here for sunshine only
I am here for hoodies and blackout curtains and quiet days
Your depression does not scare me, losing you would
so I am sticking through the haze.
You say “I do not want to ruin you
drag you down into my mess
” make you watch me crumble in slow motion hell

As if loving you means living in a constant emergency siren with no off switch and no laugh left to tell
Here is the secret when your messages get flat and sparse
when your emojis vanish and your jokes go thin
I do not see a burden; I see a friend in the deep end who trusted me enough to show me what is truly going on within.
I am not going to throw glitter at a sinkhole and call it solved
not going to tell you to cheer up or smile through pain
I will remind you to drink water, to eat something

to take your meds
to send your therapist a note when it starts to rain
Sit with you in silence if words feel useless
try dumb tricks until your mind loosens its chain.
Your depression does not scare me
it is not a warning label that tells me to walk away
It is a weather pattern that sucks

a long winter in your head that sometimes overstays
I am not here for sunshine only
I am here for hoodies and blackout curtains and quiet days
Your depression does not scare me, losing you would
so I am sticking through the haze.

If there comes a point where I am overwhelmed and need space to breathe
I will tell you clean, not disappear
That is not your illness being too much
that is both of us humbly admitting we are human
not gear, We can set up backup systems, other friends
hotlines, professionals
lifelines that do not rest on one pair of ears

Because loving someone with depression is not a solo mission
it is a village effort over the years.
Your depression does not scare me
I see the person underneath even when they go quiet and cold
I see the way you care for others
even when your own hope slips out of your hold
I am not promising to fix it

just promising not to treat you like spoiled goods when your story gets old
Your depression does not scare me, I am here
even when your brain says you are too broken to be told.
Next time you start to push me away with “you do not want this
” “you do not want me like this
” take one breath and wait, Picture me rolling my eyes
arms wide, saying “your depression does not scare me

sit down, babe, we are in this for the long freight.”