A Sun shiny smile
Match glistening eyes
Bright and ready for the day
No, don\'t shy away
A golden halo floats
Above her head
Everyone adores
They love her
So happy, so bouncey
So caring and warm
So kind, so nice
Doesn\'t think twice
If she can help someone she will
Selflessness for selfishness
To keep her halo from slipping
Further down her neck
The moment her smile fades
Her mask cracks
\"You\'re not aloud\"
Feelings kept away
\"But they love you\"
Over and over
\"They love you!
You come from a good family
You were never hurt
And they love you\"
Never hurt
Not physically, at least
While she tries to quell
The oceans of madness in her head
Trying to not be dead
Over and over
\"You can\'t feel that way\"
Be happy, don\'t stray
Pulling her face into a perpetually painful
Expressions of doubt not aloud
She thinks she\'s been lying to herself
When she says she\'s happy
\"You\'re fine\"
They say
Her lies have convinced them
If she keeps telling them
Maybe she can convince herself, too
She\'s happy
She\'s fine
She\'s ok
She\'s not broken
She can still feel
All the pain they inflict without knowing
It\'s a trick
Cuz when she was down
She was kicked
Get back up
Pick up the mask
Never leave the smile behind
Because they love you
But not enough to love you fully
Maybe she\'ll talk about it
She thinks
Maybe that would help
Except when she does
She\'s told they don\'t exist
So she can\'t feel like this
It\'s made up
All in her head
Like threads tethering the corners of her mouth
Up to her ears
Blind them to the tears
She can\'t stop
She can\'t explain why she\'s like this
\"They love you\"
That should be enough
\"But they love you\"
But that\'s all they can do
Afraid of herself
Because she can\'t explain
Sections of her brain
So dark and cold and she doesn\'t dare
Try to go there
\"But you\'re so loved\"
Because they\'ll never know...
How the shadows grow
In the back of her skull
Trying to make her halo dull
How dare they...
Think they can keep this away
Just because they love her
\"But they love you\"
They say again
Stapling the mask back together
\"They love you
You\'re talented and sweet
And they love you\"
While her monsters grew
\"So caring and warm\"
While her thoughts, they swarm
And she wonders when she\'ll love herself
As much as they love her
Best bits pulled out
Put forward
Displayed
All out for everyone to see
And the rest kept locked up
Kept back and hidden away
Sew the mask back up
Pull it back over your face
\"But they love you\"
Only this way
When the mask slips
Or rips
Gets torn
Or worn
They could have sworn
This isn\'t you
Play pretend
Until the end
Repaint the smile
Upon your face
Painful grimace
You hold with grace
Just keep the grin
So long you...
Can\'t tell when it\'s genuine...
Bright eyes
Hide the hollow inside
Like a Jack-o-lantern
Glowing, but empty
\"But they love you\"
Over and over
\"They love you\"
So it doesn\'t matter if you do
Because they love you
And you\'re not aloud
Loyal and proud
Of your work
Because it\'s all you have
You\'re an addict
You need this
You need them
Despite how they hurt you
\"They love you\"
You need their attention
You need their love
Because you don\'t have any for yourself
You\'re hollow
But they keep filling you
\"Could you love this?\"
You present to them, yourself
What you have left
\"This hollow, empty shell?
Maybe you could...fit nicely, there...\"
The problem is that now it takes more
Then they can provide, they adore
Watching you gore
Gouge yourself, hold out your guts
Spill them for everyone
There\'s nothing left inside anyways
Show them the cavity inside
Where your heart goes
And watch them leave
Turn their backs because they thought
They knew you because they knew your mask
And won\'t see past
Stitch your chest back up
Never bare yourself again
You\'re not aloud these feelings
Because they love you
They love you so much
They don\'t want to see your hurt
Bundle it up
\"But they love you\"
They love you...
And...after all...
You waited, smiling, for them...