The words on my lips
Lie in wait as bait
Baited breath for quips
Flip the switch and wait
My fuse shortened
By the state post quake
I blow and get the short end
The only smiles, fake
What’s left through the years
The tears of a clown
The words I yearn to sneer
I bit back and swallow down
While after while
I while away and pray
Through the smiles and trials
I swing with the sway
Yet it’s the pain that stays
The lessons that lessen
Not to absolve the hurts
But that leave an impression
That pain can be worse.