In a place by the lake stood a tall willow tree
It's roots stretching down far beyond where I could see
At first glance I admire its elegant beauty
But there's more than meets the eye, I learned fool-heartedly
Its melancholy dance in the cool summer breeze
Mesmerizes my senses and is enough to please
Then the reflection in the lake made it all too clear
The willow is my love but there's no need to fear
Behind her dark eyes is a cloudy sky
A girl living in fear who's dying to cry
I can see you hiding behind that brave face
Exhausted from a journey you thought was going no place
The tears I see fall are like rain from the sky
Or the branches of the willow that keep this place dry
The leaves that drape down are protecting you so
Concealing the emotions that you don't want to show
The path you traveled is something you thought you'd never surpass
Like walking down a road of rusty nails and broken glass
Like a broken heart, your feet have been torn
Yet you go on beaten and continue to mourn
But the road you walk knows another poor soul
I've been down it too, and I've paid my toll
And the secrets you kept hidden from plain sight
Are now exposed to me in the mystic moonlight
And when you weep like the willow, please know this to be true
I'll love you forever, even when the skies ahead aren't blue

-AJT

It hurts when even your mother turns against you
Often we give our trust to those who number few
Yet when that small trust is betrayed
My hopes and dreams you all have slayed
Yet I’m smart too
My walls are littered with the characters of my mind
These specific pieces you will never find!
When simple letters override
Your own definition of yourself
How it possible
How is there a way
That my mind is defined
By only my grades!
Then you start to feel doubt
And then I thought what is this about
“I have my own way” I told myself
And I don't need their approval
So behind closed doors I continued to doodle
I continued to express all the genius I felt
I continued to avoid the metal on father’s belt
It was hard for me to even barely pass
When I didn't understand the need for math class
Yet I’m smart too
I say bless you to every “Achoo!”
People don't give me the time of day
I know I’m not beautiful
But I have so much to say
Our world can be cruel
Take it from me first hand,
If you realized how much I envy you,
Then you’d understand
To be able to recite
Formulas 1 by 1
Or to be able to write essays
Just for fun
But I have something you all don't
I convey my feelings and I have hope
That one day someone will come to realize
That I’m smart too

When I wept before you
watching my emotions fall like
                               crayon colours

Painting the floor with immature
          emotions...
did you read the colours I spelt..


Or did you just see irregular patterns
                spelling out my pleas...
that were like chalk drawings
                                       to your understandings

I come not for the joyful,
Who have a song to sing.
And I am not the kind
Who will leave you smiling.
Rather, I'm the kind of singer
Who looks to pierce you to the core.
I'm probably not who you're looking for-
I'm a heavy kinda soul

Cause I'm a bleeder,
And I'm a dreamer
I wear my heart out on my ragged sleeve-
I'm a heavy kinda soul.
     Happiness just ain't my thing,
And peace is always far away
Smiles are as rare as a desert breeze,
Cause I'm a heavy kinda soul.

I don't want to entertain you
I want to touch your heart.
I am the voice for the broken,
Hiding in the dark.
Maybe the only other one
Who understands the Darker Road-
Cause I'm a heavy kinda soul.

Cause I'm a bleeder,
And I'm a dreamer
I wear my heart out on my ragged sleeve-
I'm a heavy kinda soul.
     Happiness just ain't my thing,
And peace is always far away
Smiles are as rare as a desert breeze,
Cause I'm a heavy kinda soul.

If you hear me,
Would please weep too?
Would you let me know that I'm not alone?
I want to give the broken, a song they can call their own,
But I'm so broken too.
Cause I'm a heavy kind of soul.

When the world has exhausted me from continuously unresolved misunderstandings,
I retreat back to the inner workings of my mind and soul.

Trying to accept that even though I wish to settle inside of strangers
That I am just not a being to be comprehended.

I must be just a ghost.
Barely visible,
A sound in the background,
A closing door,
A whisper in the room.

Making you wonder if you really heard something or was it just your imagination?

I must be a superstition.

I continue to pass through them, trying to reach a soul,
but I am not even on the same plain of existence as you.