i read that astronauts
can tell from outer
space which cities are
newly built because
electricians are making
streetlights out of
sodium vapor now as
opposed to mercury,
so now road outlines
glow orange

and newer cities tend
to be more geometrically
planned, all straight
edges and such, while
older cities are made up
of frantic curves and
corners

and i wonder if i look
to you like i have been
worn and used, am i
frenzied and dull, or
am i new?  maybe my
jagged lines have
been sanded and smoothed

maybe
i still
glow

imagine: there are two bodies floating
at the top of the lake, and you know them
by name-  one is the girl who has always
loved you, and the other is the girl you
have always loved, even though she tells you
she could never love you back. both are
drowning, do you save one, or do you
drown too?

Fight the anchor bringing you down
Cut the ties that make you drown
Say goodbye to the souls
Who have the master controls
Over you and your actions
Turn your back on the distractions
Look forward to the road ahead
To look beyond the unsaid
Leave behind the reminders of your past
Forget about your time as an outcast
Walk away from your greatest mistakes
Step on the gas and don’t hit the brakes
Don’t lose another battle, win the war
Destroy the forces that destroyed you before
Take your words and scream them out
Make everyone hear what they’re without
Wake up from the nightmares you have each day
Live your own dreams and don’t let them stray
Cut off the strings holding you still
Act on your own, by your individual will
Force your independence, make a stand
Get rid of constraints, the judgmental brand
Take a breath without asking permission
Never again commit submission
Wonder how you had let this grow
How you didn’t see this coming, didn’t know
Lose the wool covering your sight
Save yourself from blindness in order to see the light
Gaze into the illumination
Get away from frustration
Find who you are when no one’s around
Their opinions just ran you in the ground
Shut out the bad to become the good
Burn the hate like firewood
Earn your deserved liberty
Accept yourself as your identity

We are superheroes
Who simply haven't found
our masks
And are too shy to
let people see
Who we really are