Hello there,
Let me introduce myself.
My name is Punching Bag.

It doesn't matter how long you neglect me,
Because, when you need a scape goat,
I'm just as tough as the day you first met me.

Hit me all you like, I'll barely budge.
And no matter how hard you throw that punch,
I'll only move closer to you.

Not once will I ever swing back.

You'll find those more well-aquainted with me sometimes call me,
Used Tissue.

When things get a little too messy, I'm the reliable one who cleans you up.
Get sick, I'll take care of you.
A broken heart? I'll dry your tears.
I'll fix your make-up.

Then, when the exitement is over,
Just toss me out.
I won't mind.

As you spend more time with me, I'm sure you'll learn to refer to me as:
Closet, or even Mirror.

A part of the furniture you're used to having around
But even whenyou get bored with the look,
You don't throw me out.

I'm a place to point ot your insecurities,
Then hang them up along side your skeletons, locked inside me.

Then, seeing yourself as better than you are,
Go on with your day.

Go ahead and stick a lable on me reading Story Book,
Even though I'm still fairly empty of fairytales inside.

I won't even read into your faibles;
There's nothing more exciting than a history that never really happened, right?

Make up what you think might be fun to tell before passing me to someone else,
To read and add on more.

But, now that you've gotten to know me better, why don't you call me Staircase?

I let people walk on me, walk all over me 'til they reach the top.

I'll have to warn you about this though.
I'm not made of marble, stone or brick.
I'm made of wood that's been warn away by heavy boots
So, each step is a little less thick.
One of my dusty, rotten boards might give way and you might fall.

Please, don't blame me.
Even with all my identities, I can't change what I am.
As har as I try, I'm still only human.

To answer your question,
Yes.

It never left me.

It sits patiently at the sidelines on sunny days.
It doesn't fight formy attention.
It doesn't book off days in my calender.

It smiles when I smile.
It laughs when I laugh.
It knows that all It has to do
Is wait for the overcast.

A ceiling of clouds closing in on me.
Day after day, the raindrops won't come.
Each grey morning looks a little darker than the last.

Until, atlast:
The first tear hits the ground.

And It is there, immediately.
Offering escape.

At first, I'll refuse.
"Never again."
I meant what I said.
I will not break my promise.

But as the hours go by,
It becomes more obvious.
The rain does not want to let up.

And there It is,
Reminding me of Its offer of solution.
It promises that Its affections are just as strong as always.

I want to pull away,
But I can't deny the safeness that calls to me,
Awaiting beneath the umbrella.

The calmness I feel spreading from the burn where It grips my skin.

The storm passes,
Leaving nothing but a colourful mess to clean up.

I don't expect you to understand.
But then again,
I don't expect you to find out.

"Never again."
I'd meant what I said.

But it's so easy to think that It will never hurt you.
Not the way It hurts me when all I have is loneliness for company.

So, to answer your question,
Yes.

And if you ever bothered to check, you'd see.
It forever waits on my company.

It laughs when I laugh.
It cries when I cry.
But maybe It would give up and leave,
If you too never left my side.

I remember how warm the look in your eyes used to be.
You see, I play those moments back in my mind,
Time after time.
A little light just for me.

I remember how safe I felt whenever you held me close.
That strength you swore would stay for any length of time.
You promised you'd always be mine.

I remember how your voice used to sound.
Your song would make my heart pound, but now?
I'm so damaged I'm numb.

And you are too but by *** and coke
And not a word is spoken between us because now,

You lie here.
In my arms.
Fading fast.

While I try to fend of the pain the morning is bound to bring back to you again
And pray it migh last.

But the look in your eye is so distant.

The warmth,
The heat is gone.
Cold feet.

Your hands are shaking as you ask if it's really me there.

You don't even recognize me.

So, why do I care?

You appologize, but the diction is slurred.
The meaning is blurred.
I can't breathe near you.

Still, I can't bring myself to leave you.

So, I kiss your cheek and tell you that I know.
I also know that yo won' remember a confession of love to me,
Your "saving grace sent from above," so I pretend not to hear.

I hold back a tear, tuck you in bed.
And remember the things that I should have said.

I am lost.

I am floating adrift on a boat.
      On a lake.
            With fog all around

I go in circles,
      Never quite reaching dry ground.
             And I am tiring.

I tire of waiting for the clouds to part
      and the moon to rise,
            To be guided home by starlit skies.

So, I sleep.

And I dream.

And as I dream, I remember a time
      When I ran wild through the trees.
            I find myself smiling. I have never felt so free.

Then I hear a snap.
      Followed by a whistle.
            And I remember the rest.

I remember why I am running.

You are chasing me.

I run from you and yet,
      You canot seem to grasp the idea
             That I do not want to be your neglected pet.

You are gaining on me.

I try to flee but suddenly,
      The forest is like a maze
              And I am runing in circles all over again.

I trip up and fall to the forest floor,
      But just before I reach it,
            You catch me.

You play hero and beg me never to stray.
      You were so afraid.
            Well, I'm afraid you were right to be.

Let me go, or hold me close
      But please stop spinning me around.
             These circles make me sick as I fall to the ground.

And just as I open my mouth to say this,
      You kiss my lips.

I wake, a cool breeze tickling my face,
       To find the moon has cleared the fog in all her grace.

My eyes widen as I finally see.

I comprehend.

I stand,
      Rock my boat
            And then, dive in.

Tonight,
I'm wrapped in three blankets,
Next to a memory that sits on the arm of the couch where I first told you I loved you.

Tonight,
I can see the moon outside amongst the shimmering stars
But shivering from the cold and the loneliness that hangs in every dark cloud that surrounds it.

Tonight,
We are one and the same,
The moon and me.

We hear no sound but our own and watch the world.

We take refuge in the night because there is no way we can put up a fight against the sun.

But tonight,
I know I've been alone in the dark too long.

I wait 'til I see something creep up over the horizon,
Let the warmth touch my pale skin,
Realise just how much I've missed having that sunkissed sweetness on my lips

Burn me, baby! Turn me into something that glows!

I know you do your best,
Which is better than good enough for me
But apparently not for you.

They day becomes too hot and you need to step outside for air.

And I feel...

Nothing.

I look down to find my heart has turned black.
I touch it, expecting it to turn to ash.
But instead,
It stays firm beneath my fingertips.

Something is wrong.

It's frozen,
And I've been alone all along.