Peace is giving,
Fading,
Quenched by the patient black,
As always I had thought myself free,
A bird released from its cage into a room with no windows,
Free for the moment,
Imprisoned the next,
Clipped wings and a silent song,
At least you'd think so...

I'm plagued by fake smiles and false promises, thought poor because I can't quite pay attention,
Maybe if you'd pay attention to me we could share in the wealth of each other,
...But I'm not quite worth your time.

I breathed in the idea,
Like smoke it filled my lungs,
Killed me slowly,
Stripped away skin,
Diluted flesh...

I'd tell you how I feel,
But all I feel is cheated,
And your attention is like a sigh,
A gust of wind strong enough to send yesterday's newspaper to the bottom of the bin,
I'm old news,
And I never made the front page,
And you don't even read the paper.

Yesterday's absence is a tribute to you,
A sly reference to your biggest punchline,
You punch like Mike-*******-Tyson,
Your apathy a clenched fist,
Striking my ribs and leaving me breathless,
I never was any good at boxing,
And I could never take a swing at you.

I'm down for the count,
Because you can count on me,
And the same can't be said of you,
Because I take hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit after hit afteeeeer hit... and then I take a few more,
Because I can't stop thinking,
Because the last guy ****** you over and I don't want to be the last guy to the next me.

You're not my experience, no, I am yours,
I was a new jacket that got old far too quickly,
A cigarette smoked because, ****? who doesn't smoke these days?
I am and only ever was... Temporary.

That tree we carved our initials into was cut down to make room for a ******* liquor store,
An ironic twist, an easy fix,
I was only ever a distraction,
Another bottle,
You dropped me just to see if Id break...
And I did.

Your knuckles still knock the wind from me every time I'm overlooked,
Still graze my cheeks with every impatient sigh,
You still punch like Mike-*******-Tyson.