I sit with him under a tree
Where me and her once sat.
We both shared secrets and stories
We'd always talk, no matter where we were at

They both said things I keep in my heart
I can hear their words in the back of my mind
Only one is in the past, and one is now
Will you be the friend I've been longing to find?

Me and her would talk everyday
Until one day she decided to leave
Me and her don't talk everyday
But remembering her won't make me grieve

Our connection is growing fast
You're a person I want to remember
Will this end up like the last?
And will you please be her?

A group of thieves found a thriving tree
So they dug it up, then all went to see

The tree had grown from roots of pain
So they were confused on why this tree was sane

Then one realized the tree was made from healing
The guilt it hid over the years was now revealing

The tree started to wilt, slowly dying
They heard the tree’s screams, even its crying

For the tree hid everything to protect its health
It was just not happy for its life and wealth

The thieves felt bad and ran away
Even if the tree would still decay

They knew that tree was once their own
The one that they had used and thrown

But they were not thieves of objects, even if they could
They were the thieves if my innocent childhood

I’m just the moon, wandering through
You’re the sun, adding shine to the morning dew

You stack up your compliments every day and night
While others insult the moon and start to fight

Now we are next to each other, and people assume
That you’re the better option and ignore me in the room

You light up the day, and I only darken it
You stood up for me, but only told me to sit

Nobody could ever live without you
Without me, they’ll still be attracted to you like glue

I’m jealous of all the people you adore
But they see me as only an aching sore

Maybe one day we’ll make a solar eclipse
But now our relationship is only a wisp

Now you and your band begin to sing
While I’m only watching from the wing

The word ‘friend’ ends in end
The cracks in my heart will never mend

I’ll push you away, but please stay here
For it is not anger I’m feeling, but only fear

Don’t begin to hate me, like all the others
All their friends and all their mothers

I mess up, and I know you do too
So that gives you no reason to tell me to shoo

The word ‘friend’ ends in end
Please don’t make me go through this again

what is it like,
to be the worm in the mouth of the bird?
what is it like to know it was meant to happen?
to be eaten whole,
nothing left behind.
i ooze, to feed your stomach
i ooze for a reason
it's not for nothing
the worm cannot be hurt when, even in the claws of death, the bird tells them it was right
it was supposed to happen this way:
never in any other
even while eaten in pieces
even
while sliding down the birds throat
even while knowing it's meant to be this way,
the worm must endure hearing the most painful thing of all
straight from the birds beak,
"i don't regret what i've done."

there's a crack in my chest
i filled it with flowers,
gold, and sparkles
but it's still empty
i'm still thirsty

were you too good at hiding
or had i been hallucinating

i climbed a mountain to find you
but i lost myself on the way

What a strong grip that you've managed to keep so long
How does it still feel in this moment?
Realize now that the grip was too strong
It's gone too numb to feel if it still constricts
Emboldened by the lies that cross the threshold of those lips

You get what I give and I give you what I deserved
You reap what I sow, but I know what you think I don't
Believe me, you know you've deceived me

You seem baffled as I start to roam away from your reach
Wondering where went the chain you've anchored
What of the lessons you've attempted to teach
To keep me guilted, controlled and manipulated
So you can seek all you want from the others you've lied to

You take what I give but I get what you deserved
I've reaped what you sow and you know that I don't
Believe you, I know you've deceived me

So come clean to me
Bare all your guilt
Set me free
You've already abandoned me

Still you don't resist
To continue so disrespectfully
You keep your secrets disappearing
So what is it that you still want from me?

So come clean to me (come clean, come clean)
Bare all your guilt (what you hide from me)
Set me free (your cage no longer fits)
You've already abandoned me

So why should I stay by you?

©July 2024 Neal Emanuelson

Leave what’s LEFT behind
Till you’re found RIGHT there
LEFT RIGHT there
LEFT RIGHT there

WHEN I WAS BORN MY DADDY LEFT! left, right, left.
LATER ON MY MOMMA LEFT! left, right, left.

I was LEFT RIGHT behind
left, right, left