They don't need the latest technologies or toys

They need their parents' undivided attention
They need moments of uncontrollable laughter over something silly
They need to feel safe despite the chaos happening outside

They need beautiful memories with their family not with their devices

you bar me from the gates of heaven and deny me paradise
your smoking threat burns in my lungs
and my eyes close slowly
as i cough up the last secrets of a soul laid bare
and you decide hell is my home

well, the devil welcomes me
because i am one of her daughters
a girl of horrifying beauty and unrestrained love
risen from the ash of a hate you said would protect me

you were meant to love them
instead you sewed fear
so when we reached out a hand, they fell into our arms
and for the first time
they found a home that was safe

Let 'em look for a brighter one
As you prepare yourself to be one
that will light the way
to someones darkess day anyway
You won't notice until
they told you about
why you're the brightest star they've seen

I think nobody understands the pain,
of living with constant fear.
I am tired of seeing women oppressed,
being hit, only bruises to show.
It is not okay to seal her lips then question,
why she took time to come out.
I will lose it if someone says that home
is where I'll be safe, oh I am not.
She is not, She is not, Oh she is not,
she is not, she is not, Oh I am not.

... and i lay there,
listening to your heartbeat. the soft laughs we share as we exchange kisses;

i never knew it'd become my favourite sound-

your laugh, your heartbeat;

you are my whole world.

as i lay there, peacefully with you,
you've made everything whole again,

my world; until the end.

I never know when it's safe to talk.
I never know when it's safe to show cleavage.
My male friends disappear when claimed by other woman's love.
The streets are not safe.
The nights are not safe.
Internet is not safe.
Talking to a commited friend isn't safe.
When you are a woman it's hard to find a place to exist and be who you are.
There's jealosy, there's lust, there's wickedness, there's confusion.
There's loneliness.

smoking makes me happy
the pain in my lungs reminds me
i am merely man
suffocating myself
just to feel something
not of self deprecation
you keep me safe up here
above the smoke
beyond the barriers of this world
a simple touch
takes me places i could never go
without blackening my insides