Grab the breathless butterfly
as my heart sinks in
Swallowed by the swift net of desire,
wings snipped, flightless life

If your story does not hold up in the light,  then you will spend the rest of your life in the dark.

My mania tells me things and I obey
Like:
You should dye your hair three different colors in one week
Like:
You should stay up all night finger painting and call it art
Like:
You should organize your bookshelves
based on sensations instead of genre
Like:
You should give away everything you own,
you don’t need it anyway
Like:
You should text all of your exes,
ask them when the feeling faded
or if it was ever even there
Like:
You should ignore all of your phone calls
and alarm clocks
and all other sounds
that make your skin crawl
Like:
You should cover your windows with black sheets
and pretend that life is one long night
you never have to sleep through
Like:
You should distance yourself
from everyone you love
tell them you’re okay
you just have to go away
for awhile
Like:
You should tear off your layers
expose the wounds beneath
wait for the sting to turn numb again
Like:
You should shatter yourself to pieces
pretend they can be lost
and found again
Like:
You should hide anything that hurts
in the space between your ribs
forget they’re growing
forget they’re spreading
forget they’re waiting
all winter long
to bloom like flowers in the spring

Stop and look at the few
Your eyes cast stares
toward the black and blue

Our shadows are the same bending on the wall
Creeping in the cracks
Whispers are your call

Lipstick red, double zero to the gauge
Snakebites shine
The world is my stage

Alternative is my way, let me only be
Close your ******* eyes
then turn around and leave

You told me words that were untrue
From our younger years to older through
My brother's keeper, we grew up mild
Time went rapid, you hit me wild

I stood there, by your side
watching summer nights and purple skies
Four years the younger, I looked your way
the moment you changed, you started to sway

Clothes on line, ripped off the wire
tucked under the bed, caught by the fire
You wasn't the same, I hear the sound
Confused and derailed, I felt left bound

Battered left bruised and pushed through the wall
One lonely child, no father at all
Gone from the family, tattered to shreds
No scraps on the table, just lying in beds

Gone for years then returning in vain
You asked for sorrow, but left only pain
Mental anguish awaits, not knowing why
Again you came back, others do cry

Born again you say, bashing the girl
What words do you speak? Life is a whirl
I stood by the mirror, shaking my mind
Disjointed and insane, your voice is a crime

With media you hide, through invisible means
Taken to hearts, I heard others scream
From afar you tap keys and sent to the west
Your mind is mess, only crazy was left

Bent by the lonesome, I feel heartache for you
Your brother's keeper gone by the cue
No longer a sentence but crowded by thought
I sit alone in the pitch, forever I sought

False walls hide true words
They concede to a twisted view
and demented end game