Crushing rocks in a clenched fist
Gritting cement block teeth
Ripping hair from the root
Out of a bloody scalp
Gouging red eyes from their sockets
Digging dirty nails into your own palms
Drawing dragon's blood from your veins
Silence is not only a choice
But your desire
Cotton plugged eardrums
Rattle at the sound of voices surrounding you
Dents from your toenails inside your shoes
From when you were trying to run
While sitting still
They don't see that under your flawless skin
You are brutally beaten on
By the demons in your head
If they were to peel your flesh
From your delicate frame
They would see the claw marks from yourself
Trying to escape your own body
No one can tell by your dull eyes
And awkward smile
That although you are so young
You've been fighting a war with yourself
In your imaginative mind
For several years now
Instead of counting every year you get older
You're counting how many years you have left
To roam in dusty rooms
And walk dark sidewalks
To quietly write in ripped up notebooks
And shy away from big crowds
Every year on your birthday
You blow out your candles
With the wish that you'll get better
Maybe if you peeled back
The skin you encase yourself in
People would see that you weren't okay
Instead you walk around with dull eyes
And an awkward smile
And scars beneath your skin
