Against the Grain...

(Written in the waiting room of a hospital Spring 2006)

The sun rises in the East and sets in the West,
The sky is blue and grass green
And this day, it seems just like the rest.

But if for second you took your head out of
your ass and looked around you would see
not everything is as it seems.

For just like you, the world is holding everything in
so "society" won't be upset.
To get by on this ride we call life,

you best be flyin' high,
or just don't fly at all.

Life is too short to waste time in tears,
in sorrow over a loss, over a short coming, misfortune, or a mistake....
too often we see a teen dead on the news,
so we should live life in haste...right?

A man, sits on a bench in tears....weak,
A girl holds a fist full of tissue....typical

Suck it up...the motto of life....

As you walk through the halls, through work or
down the street, you put on a cheesy grin and
smile at the rows of teeth, covering the pain.

But then, someting catches your eye...

A girl...sobbing...in the arms of a few close by...
And you think what is going on...

Scratch beneath the surface of anyone
next to you and you will witness pain, sorrow,
confusion, brokenness....a lost heart.

A guy cracks a cheesy sex joke, while inside
all he wants is the love, the warm touch of a friend...

The girl sitting next to you, in tears thinking
of her brother....laying in a box in the ground...

Or the empty chair at the front of the class,
the owner sitting in their room with a blade to their
wrist because they can't take it any longer...

Yet if you ask...all you hear is "good, fine, couldnt be better..."

Society has put a smiling stamp on the face of the world...
when it's heart is ashes, steel, and rock.

So when you see a smiling face don't be
too quick to judge, for this person may be just
like the rest, wearing a smile on their face, and
keeping their heart far from their sleeve...

For once in your life stop thinking of yourselves,
and taking life at cover price..

The boy cracking jokes, just wants attention,
wants to fit in...

The girl wants someone for once not take life for granted...
And the kid, holding the blade, just wants someone to care, and to be willing to stop worrying about themselves and lend an ear

So as you walk through life carry yourself
in a way society won't accept...
and give a shit about others

Tomorrow you may be crying, you may be making jokes, or holding the blade to your wrist...and your going to want someone to give a shit about you....

The sun rises in the East and sets in the West,
The sky is blue and the grass green,
But today, today doesn't have to be like the rest....