somebody beat me to the punch
and proceeded to beat me into a pulp
and all of these oblivious fictional skulls
partition the visuals inside of my home
the vicious and visceral twitch of my bones
could never compete with or counter the blows
right under my nose
and into my eyes
and out of the ground
and into the sky
leaving me broken
leaving me blind
and leaving me breathless, amending my mind
a sign of the times as normal men's
forms ascend, born again
watch where you step
when you elect
to walk with the devils that live in the dark
where bruised and bloody fingertips
stay picking up all of the broken shards

balancing up high on a tightrope
can't see where it began, can't see where it goes
can't see whatever it is that lay below
relying on my instinct to carry me home
_____________________________________________

and you can take that to the grave
where we
can dance our pretty hearts out
and dare the devil to behave
and take
a chance to press him into the ground
___________________
somebody beat me to the punch
and proceeded to drink all of it at once
And the secret ingredient could not be thrown up
and things began bleeding that really should not
or so we thought, or so we think
its what we're taught, what we believe
thou shall not blink
thou shall not grieve
thou shall endow me with all of your things
but presents denied, my presence aligns
with what is required of being alive
the devils tempting my temper
but never shall i surrender
i might be playing the hero, but i'm just a makeshift mascot
maintaining this shape, i'll never take this mask off

facing fears and foes with a false face
i only remain faceless to feel safe,
a selfish failsafe for fighting fate
because fate won't fight fair when it feels you're fake
_____________________________________________

and you can take that to the grave
where we
can dance our pretty hearts out
and dare the devil to behave
and take
a chance to press him into the ground

There's not a single soul behind me
this I know so please don't show or attempt to remind me
I'm trying to cleanse the soul inside me
but the debt is blinding
________________________________________

Somebody beat me to the punch
And now I'm afraid that I'll never catch up
All out of luck and all out of time
Wish I could transfer their sight into mine
Pull the hand back reverse and rewind
Repair the retina so I redefine
The center of sins can be rectified
And I am alive, I have not died

And I know
This path might not be perfect
but i'm willing to bet it's worth it
reaching beneath the surface
to purge uncertainty's nerve-binge
I'm sick of waiting for information that i'd hate to know.

This path might not be perfect
but i'm willing to bet it's worth it
reaching beneath the surface
to purge uncertainty's nerve-binge
I'm sick of getting hurt when
I attach too quick; separate too slow