They tell me I stand on ceremony
That I feel neither embrace, nor slap
But though my rigid eyes refuse compromise
I am human, though not the one I was before

It's true that I like an order to things
And that my comfort rests in things I can touch
But of all the reasons I can see in the mind's eye
"I am human" is the one that resonates the most

I blend into the background where I've made my home
A world where shadows beget only more shadows
But though the darkness controls my existence
I am human, and there's light within me yet

My dreams are juxtaposed with failures
My motion is akin to driftwood in the empty sea
Passions that once slumbered within my soul
Now rage like desperate refugees
There are listless clouds on the horizon
Drops of morning dew rest upon my brow
I scream without sound or the hint of emotion
Clinging to anchors I've long tried to disavow

I ache with reasons and indiscretion
I scale the ladders of patience with no remorse
Weapons drawn, she still slays me with a smile
Wearing armor I care not to reinforce
Shame and her sisters 
Poison me with their lilac, honey, and wine
While blame and its blisters
Lie in wait for our stars to realign

My shirttail is undone
And your lips aren't painted
Except with the soft shades of surrender

My dreams are tattooed with kudzu
Your scent catches sweetly against the air
Spilling my heart as you close the door

Your eyes have been watering
But I'm hundreds of miles away
Thousands, if you include the pillow

I flick the hourglass on the nightstand
Witnessing myself slipping down the glass
As the last of the grains slowly trickle down

You fix your hair in the mirror
And I know my days are numbered
As years disappear from the calendar

I catch a glimpse of our first kiss
Soft and sudden like rolling thunder
Hands tugging at the threads of infinity

But the stairwell whispered its certain destiny
And watched, as my heart took the flight up
Yours took the flight down

My mind sends reinforcements
To the crater where my heart once beat
I am sleepless when at peace
And I am exhausted when at war
I'm humbled by this new expanse

I just closed the door
While she's standing on the other side
I am numb and staring off into space
There are no feelings that once thrived
Instead, new pain fills the voids

Shallow beauty lingers
In these simple tears along the fabric
Frosted hearts no longer beating
Broken seasons no longer static
Revered footsteps echo
Like the faintest of dying whispers
Open my mouth to utter nonsense
Venomous voices sound like blisters
We are granite and gravity
Stepping stones to greener pastures
Bass and treble evolved as one
An aria of glass on the brink of fracture
Glancing over a shoulder
To sing of subterfuge and serenity
Drop your octaves, and drop your weapons
We bear arms to prove our empathy