don't let them win

They will beat your ass

black and blue

like a week-old banana

versus

a screaming 16-wheeler

then

applying a thin coat of gold

paint

over your bruised

and mangled body

place a price tag

with your worth

but don’t let them win

when they light their fires

just to watch you put it out

but

the extinguisher they handed you

is filled with gasoline

and

yellow confetti

you can’t let them win

because if they do

they won’t even know it

only you will

while it corrodes your dreams

like battery acid

spilt into a placid sea

life will go on

as normal

for them

that is why you can never

let them win