I am forgotten
beaten down, washed up, son of a bitch
my sunken face, of hollowed bones
teeth stained from years of cigarette smoke
this bitter cold of blasting heat
dreaming of freedom, these broken chains
cardboard signs from leftover pizza
a constant reminder of how my stomach groans
and my mind it aches from morning withdrawal
this daily struggle to mend
needle to the skin like needle to a broken record
of a song that no longer plays
but echoes the silence
I used to fear this silence of which now I cannot find
the reverberating footsteps and the sirens that fill it
the voices in my head that always argue
the same damn question
this quick high for a lasting low
have I lost my way
where is my soul
am I but a stone in a world full of gems?
unpolished and cast aside
the rose that grew from the crack
in the concrete next to where I rest my head
was smashed by the polished shoes as they passed by