gas light.
running on empty.
not enough fumes to drive
the gold paved road to the
pearly gates.

It was only July, and yet I watched the snowfall
as you kissed me goodbye.
You placed presents under my bed
next to the monsters,
and my smile had too many teeth to be sincere.

I guess Christmas came early, but I was unprepared.
I dug holes in my backyard,
found chicken bones instead of gold.
Please, take this gift as a token of my worth.

I left footprints in the snow as I paced the halls,
hung lights across the oven.
I took the phone off the hook so I wouldn't be bothered,
too busy painting pictures of a manger.

I guess Christmas came early, but I was unaware.
I dug through my coat pockets,
found lint instead of gold.
Please, take this gift as a token of my worth.

My hands turned blue as I built an igloo on my bed,
decided to warm them by the TV,
placed empty bottles on the mantle as decorations,
wrote a love story for my mother.

I guess Christmas came early, and I was left to stare
at tail lights, projecting a fairy tale on my fair skin.
I dug a grave in my bathroom,
found pills instead of gold.
Please, take this gift as a token of my worth.

Crimson lips stain
cigarette ends-
    meet, never sufficient,
    never worth-
        while you lie
        next to me
        in my bed,
        in your tomb,
        on my lips
        the stain of death

I have a beast inside
that becomes my shadow in daylight
and sings me sickly sweet lullabies at night
She feeds on the formaldehyde in my blood
She ***** the air from my smoke filled lungs
She tells me I'm beautiful as claws dig in my skin
She calls me her pet