Serpents in the undergrowth
Slithering and slithering
My heart has mutated from the venoms

I'm no longer king of my castle
I'm no longer ruler of my facets
I'm just debased, polluted, paralyzed

In the belly of the beast
Writhing and writhing
The decay of my soul is expedited

I'm no longer the guardian of my gates
I'm no longer the sire of my court
I'm just devoured, absorbed, obtuse

I am no peaceful son of man
I am a crown of thorns
I am no hero, saint, or king
I'm just the weary worn
Bathed in evil, I trade love for war
Dreaming of evergreens
I am no peaceful son of man
I am a submarine

I am no peaceful son of man
I am chaos reborn
I am no martyr, prince, or god
I'm just a man forlorn
Shamed in silence, I whisper lies
Long since I knew the taste of truth
I am no peaceful son of man
I am abandoned youth

Steady me
Steady my hand fast
This is collusion
Between my future and past

Four walls
Four walls closing in
This is claustrophobia
Smothered by the man within

Scratch marks
Scratch marks adorn the ceiling
This is desperation
To escape a hopeless feeling

Drops of daylight
Drops of daylight peer through the cracks
Is this overambition?
Or another panic attack?

Liberator
Liberator, don't leave me paralyzed
Quell this nebulous thunderstorm
And help my spirit to arise

Gravity and all its symptoms
Cause my pretenses and expectations
To dangle like pomegranate

Salt, as I am, changes with the seasons
Light, as I'm not, dims in dark places
I bring famine to these fertile lands

I reach an outstretched hand beyond
The dank foliage shrouding my view
I am uncomposed, but unashamed

The eavesdroppers wait for my whisper
But I am far too loud for simple minds
And the echo dances along the horizon

I cry out, a plea to whoever listens
I beg you, leave me out of focus
Because the blur is where you'll find me

My dreams have all been killed
Stabbed in the back, and bleeding out
Pushed off a ledge onto jagged rocks
Poisoned and strangled til' their final breaths
And buried beneath these grains of sand

But, I alone, am the only suspect

Peaceful
That's what I am without you
Like a star-studded chandelier
I am swinging, swaying
Not breaking or betraying
And I will not plead for you

Radiant
That's what I am without you
Like a million fireflies in the dark
I am glowing, gleaming
Not shouting or scheming
And I will not plead for you