Painted Smile

It’s all an act, can’t you see? A pretense of Shakespearean complexity A mask of so many layers it’s hard to hold Yet it only gets heavier as this sorry life unfolds If you really cared then you’d see my eyes And the bitter pain these beguiling lids disguise But all it takes to fool your petty mind Are some superficial words to keep you sweetly blind As time goes on, the facade takes its toll Exhaustion insidious as my heart grows cold. The light fades to an ironic, acrid hue The last bastion defeated with all hopes of rescue. So all that’s left is to succumb meekly to this fate Smothered by self-loathing and the ever-present hate That twists my life into a snarling parody Plummeting obliquely into mundane obscurity So how to find solace in a shell that I despise? By defiling the innocence this awkward exterior belies. It’s clichéd I know, but it let’s go Drink, smoke and ‘til we feel alive! That smile oblivion reserves for only me As I surge towards it, Self-destructing Happily We’ve all got to die, So why should I Linger for longer Than is Necessary?