A silenced song bird 
Sings her cries
For heaven and hell 
And all that lies 
between the lines 
Between the hills 
Its valleys laced with hidden lies
And hidden spies
Its valleys laced with silver and gold
And the stories of old 
Told from the beak of a
Silenced song bird

I feel like I’m trapped in the waves, 
A little give and lot take.
Every time I feel the shore
Underneath my wrinkled feet,
I’m pulled right back out again. 
Tossed,
Turned,
My throat full of salt,
My lungs full of water,
I’m beginning to drown. 
Every time I surface 
Another wave crashes down onto me. 
Disoriented,
Dizzy,
The waves are too strong, 
My muscles are weak,
I’m not sure how much longer I can fight the undertow.

Maybe it’s the words you didn’t say,
That I should’ve been listening closer to.
Instead of analyzing every word that passed your lips,
It was your heartbeat that I should’ve pressed my deaf ear against,
Instead of that glass up against your closed door,
Desperately trying to hear the secrets you whispered into your mirror. 
But I see now that the words you spoke aloud,
Weren’t secrets. 
You held your secrets within you,
In your throat, on your tongue, 
In...

Voices sing around a birthday cake
The jingling of car keys
Loud music blasting from speakers 
Smiles from across the room 
Chanting of a soccer team before they flood the field 
Rustling and shuffling of papers 
Ringing of a school bell
An awkward engagement
“Would you want to go on a date with me?”
The blushing of a face
Laughter
Agreement
The purchasing of tickets 
Soda filling a cup
A movie just a bit too loud 
The light smack of...

Kyle opens the front door of his old family home, dressed in a hippie style outfit. He’s holding a  suitcase.
He steps inside.
Mary, his mom, enters the foyer.
Mary: “You’re home! Let me take your things!” (Grabs his suitcase from his hands.) “Let me get your father.” (Calling behind her back.) “Nathan, come see your son, he’s home from school.”
Nathan enters the foyer and eyes his son judgmentally.
Nathan:  “What are you wearing?”
Kyle: ...

I summoned the courage to look at you today.
You happened to look up, to catch my gaze.
This time, I didn’t look away. 
This time you blushed and smiled,

You do not like who I am, 
Just the idea of me.  
I once was blind, 
But now I can see. 

And it hurts and it burns. 
My chest is on fire. 
But I'd rather hurt now, 
Then sleep next to a liar.