You might want to get out a pen and paper and take some notes

Listen up, no texting please, awkward eyes contact is necessary

We’ll start with some basic rules, you'll want to write them down

Rule #1) smiles and lies can fool the system as long as you can keep them

Young children with the minds of adults when the world turns against them

 

The love that should fill them is replaced with fear 

With no food in the cupboard, their faith wilts like the flower they are told they are

State help drowns them in dust and the elixor with dinner helps to soothe internal wounds

The couch cushions sink as far as the hope in their eyes

When the laughter and fun on every ones faces are only pale pictures of the past.

 

They crave the excitement, the games to play, and stars above, children learn to live without

Then one beer becomes four, and the chasers become as bitter as the lips it passes

The holes in the wall and the splinters on the floor aren’t the only things broken

Hidden beneath the makeup and clothing, the dark circles run deeper than sleep

Rule #2) remember to stash a blanket outside in case the door is ‘accidentally’ lock for the night

 

The fridge becomes the desolate waste land of their minds

Alcohol and cigarettes are the staples that hold the shattered together

The letter in the mail with the tell-tale writing

With the fleshy lace spread across the back and face

It’s funny how the foundation you grow up knowing and patching with memories

 

Can be ripped from beneath the shaking and bruised feet of the innocent

Nail by nail and blood for blood the boxes pile up

The sun sets on the life behind as the U-Haul rumbles up the pass

The drinking never stops, they learn to breath what is drowning them

You’d never notice they were alive if not for the mumbles you hear from their cracked lips

 

To celebrate a break through, or to  help the dead sleep

The self-medication of consumption lead to the raise in voices

When Christmas comes around, the children hope for more than toys

They check under the tree for money, food, love

Once again the tensions run high, and the spirits of the season are swallowed

 

When help finally comes, they divert their eyes

They whisper amongst themselves, but smile plastically back at the child

“Good luck” they say, and walk back out, never looking back as the yelling starts 

Rule #3) pretend you’re not alive

When you walk past the infected, don’t look up from the floor

 

Just go to your room, hide your belongings and the last sliver of hope that’s left

Don’t take the food from the cupboard and don’t make too much noise

Give up on finding a way out, give in to the fact that you’re stuck

Start counting down the day until it can change…. But don’t put too much effort into it

Rule #4) keep your friends close, but not too close

 

They might find out your secret, about your family

Let no one in, but don’t think you’re the only person being shit on by life

Just refer to Rule #1) when they ask if you’re okay, if you’d like to hang out, if they could come over

Rule #1) they can’t find out if you keep them at arm’s length