When the phone rang, I didn’t answer
It was because I had nothing to say
I didn’t want questions
Or nice conversation
I just wanted to be left by the way
To be put aside like a book
Are you a pawn or a rook?
Do you steal hearts like an infamous crook?
Do you get jealous?
Sometimes overzealous
Or are you just hoping that someone will look?
I’ve got good vision
I’ve been sent on a mission
I’ll slay the red dragon today
I’ve been given my rations
I’m filled up with passion
And I’m not even the least bit afraid

The shadow at night
Hides it’s own plight
Through reflections of oncoming lights
It’s never too far
It’s always quite near
And it’s harmless  
So never fear
It matches your movements
Step after step
You can try to avoid it
But it will intercept
So always remember
Never forget
Your shadow knows
Where your secrets are kept

I lay down to sleep
But I’m still awake
The clock keeps on ticking
Despite what’s at stake
My eyelids stay open
As the minutes, they pass
Lying awake with thoughts of the past
The moon fades away
And the sun starts to rise
Now all that I’m feeling
Are tears in my eyes
I never found dreamland
Oh, what a surprise
I must carry this burden
That I’ve come to despise
I tried to focus, I tried to count sheep
But I’m stifled and stirred
Still, I can’t fall asleep
I’m encompassed by darkness
Yet I can’t sleep a wink
I just ponder solutions
Until I’m brought to the brink
To the brink of destruction
Until I get some rest
And I fall into slumber
My mission, my quest

If I could make one dream come true
All my moments would be spent with you
The sun would rise and set at dusk
As we confide in who we trust
With words and actions that we hold so dear
The rain would come, then disappear
Back in the clouds up in the sky
Cover overhead to keep us dry
There’s that twinkle in your eyes
That keeps me humble, kind, and wise

If only you knew
Spent a day in my shoes
Then you’d have a clue
Of what I say and do
It’s a valuable lesson
One you can’t learn in books
It’s real and it’s vivid
And it’s swarming with crooks
So you must stay evasive
Put on a mask, a disguise
So that you’re invisible
From God’s prying eyes
Let’s go, let’s move on
That’s just how it goes
Weighing my options
The cons and the pros
In hopes I find balance
From the highs and the lows
I’m not too embarrassed
To leave myself exposed
Exposed to the hatred
To the critics, the judge
And still, I stand tall
Unwilling to budge

Forgive my voice
My trembling lips
As words dribble out my mouth
I do not know of what I say
Or what I talk about
I’m broken into shards of glass
Though the pain has been reduced
By your words, by what they mean
And the way that they are used
You sewed my severed heart strings
You brought life to the mundane
And you filled my heart with happiness
For all the days that still remain

I swam in the monotony
I drowned in waves of sand
That slipped right through my fingers
Of a strong yet poultry hand
I grip from muscle memory
On to anything I can
Then I ripped it from the depths of hell
When I finally took a stand
This is nothing too remarkable
Of this, I understand
But I was just a little boy
That one day became a man