When I was 16 I almost drowned
I swallowed enough water to sink
Any ambitions to become a sailor
The water tasted a lot like my pride
It left an after taste bitter enough
To humble a King

What we take from the world
Is simply a reflection of
Who we are inside
If you feel like the sun is avoiding you
Like your ex-girlfriend
Then visit the dentist and make your smile
Bright enough to get by
The crowded streets of downtown
Aren’t filled with inept *******
Just you, who isn’t willing to see
That everyone has pain in their eyes
No matter how well they disguise
Their recent demise with ties and lies
Bought online

We fall into the chasm of doubt
That high-fives gravity because
They got you to fall
Change who you are and you’ll
Literally change your world
Because everything reflects
Our character instead of our appearance
Except for cursed glass that
Became a mirror

When you’re tempted to doubt
The goodness of life
Remember that life is what you make it
When God writes your conclusion
To your life’s dissertation
It will simply be a story
Of the dreams you had the courage
To chase

You have nothing to fear
Not even fear itself
Because you are the owner
Of happiness and peace
Enough for yourself if you’re
Willing to share

When I was 16 I almost drowned
I was resuscitated and spit out
My pride and coughed up my ego
To breath in the world
Through unbiased purity
Now I can finally see
I left that ignorant part of me
To fend for himself
I was never a good swimmer

the words never seem to touch the tone
i am meaning to say i want to
weigh them with my tongue like pebbles
clattering under my teeth
i was never as lonely as when
i couldn’t speak
you must have felt that loneliness
you couldn’t swallow
we all have days when we get in our car
and think about what we could really do
if we wanted to
drive to the store or off a cliff
you choose the first
never let your brain teach your hands
to slip around the other one
possibilities are dangerous
when there are so many ways
to play in traffic
let me count the limbs
in this car wreck
let us count the ways
we have all been wrecked
by a promise or a minute
with a weapon in your hands
that you never thought about
until you were going to fast you wanted
to stop