Underneath the surface
And mind you, this is true of everyone
Lies something far more interesting
Much more intriguing
And often darker than anything you can  see

Take a girl
She's pretty, has a smile on her face
Laughs and flirts and teaser her way through the day
But alone, she is wreck
A mess of self hatred and bitterness
Waging a war on her body

Take a boy
He's tall, handsome, strong
A stud athlete, a great character kid
The kind of son you want your child to grow up to be
Yet on the inside he is miserable
Dad's a drunk with a temper
Mom left years ago
And he blames himself every moment for that
Wishing he wasn't alive

Take a woman
She works hard, with kids and a job
The children are smart, well mannered
They'd make any mother proud, and they are her pride and joy
But her husband is always gone on business
And the pain is too much to bear
So she turns to the pills that make her forget
The pills that came to run her life

Take a man
Wealthy, successful
Straight laced and out spoken, climbing that corporate ladder
A bachelor, and everyone assumes its by choice
H chose career over family and thrived
Or so they think
But little do they know he has a secret
A wife isn't exactly his style
He loves another man, who hates him for it
So he throws himself into his work
Until his fire had died, and he is burnt out

On the surface, success is a wonderful guise
For all the pain we bury inside