On a bus bound for whatever destination I'm supposed to be at currently,
And like all the bus rides I've ever taken, I feel the need to get there urgently
Faces step on and faces step off, a transport required to get to where they're going
A brief moment in time, a minuscule corner in the blanket the fates are sewing
But I begin to wonder, how is it that every said moment has brought me to this one -
When so many others had expiration dates they couldn't outrun?
The ride after school was once filled with many voices and adolescent mischief, not a seat empty
Then you look around and find that the vacant rows are now aplenty
Cars fly by, everyone in a rush with an agenda to complete
Brew coffee, mark tasks, delay who you want to be, then rinse and repeat
Promise your mom that you'll call more often when things become less busy
Plan a trip you never take to a long distance friend in a far away city
Let suffering plant itself in your bones until they're tangled in your roots
Become so cynical that you unknowingly transform into one of the ruthless brutes
Go home to learn it's not really home anymore,
Because once you've seen what's beyond the wall, it can't be the way it was before
And the air feels so cold, the world so violent, the building always burning
A new threat around every corner just waiting in the shadows lurking
I traipse my hand down my nose, if only to make sure I am real
To ensure the bodily vessel in which my soul is carried is something I can feel
The floor distorts, the mirrors turn,
And the more I see, the less I learn
Until I gently fall into a dream where nothing feels quite so heavy,
Where happiness is found at sunset, riding in the bed of the old Chevy
In the stories of friends after a long night that's lasted until the early morning hours
When everyone in the car agrees it's worth it to stop and observe the flowers
In the waters of the ocean or the sand underneath your feet
When the sun touches your skin as you walk down the street
In the comfort of a laugh shared with a soul that can understand
In an arm around your shoulder, in the solace of a hand in hand
And I see this so clearly, now I'm clawing at the surface
Undress me of the disguise I've perfected, break me from the circus
I'm not here to merely survive, to only persevere
I was born under the rule that one day I am to inevitably disappear
So don't show me the ugly of this world, don't make me look at the callouses
Let me disband the cult of agony, a jail cell in the form of self-imposed palaces
Lie with me in the sun and look for my soul in all the eyes that meet your own,
Let me run through the meadow and explore the unknown
Sip coffee on the porch and take the long way back,
Allow the things of this life to wash over me instead of planning for attack
And when the rain is pouring hard on your tin roof, promise me you'll make the drive
Over to my place - so I can remind you what it is to be alive