Right in the Feels
Valley nights under flickering streetlights Just
a kid trying to find where
he fits Felt like I'd been
wired a little differently
Mom and Dad passing joints on
the porch swing Laughing with friends
'til my lungs burned cold Stepdad
staggered in, breath reeking of whiskey
Words like barbs slashed deep in
my soul Told 'em I felt
broken from the start That I
wasn't like the other boys dancing
free They shrugged me off,
smoked up with a hollow grin
Left me questioning what they thought
of me They left an eight-year-old
wondering Wondering whether he should be
alive
How'd you let me drown in
your shadows When all I wanted
was to be seen?
Road blocks built by the ones
who should've lifted Left me stranded
in a shattered dream Feeling invisible
more and more every day
Years blur and I carry the
valley inside me Built my life
piece by piece on borrowed hope
Now my body betrays me with
every heartbeat This rare disease tightening
its rope Kids call me "sir"
now, but inside I'm that boy
Still bruised from the words I
couldn't out-ring No calls home,
no forgiveness,
no healing Just echoes of fights
left unfinished and undone
How'd you let me drown in
your shadows When all I wanted
was to be seen?
Road blocks built by the ones
who should've lifted Left me stranded
in a shattered dream
I wonder still as the world
keeps spinning Could a younger me
have been someone worth winning?
I carry scars like faded tattoos
Of every door slammed in my
face But I'm writing a story,
forging my future Beyond the valley,
I finally take my place