Mirrorless Cadence

Lyrics

I awoke in a form the influencers praise, Impeccably cast, a crowd-stopping blaze. Shirts fit like they’d been waiting for me, Every mirror whispered, You look so pretty! “Mr. Perfectly Toned,” they crowned me that fast, A myth in the making, something built to outlast. They loved the façade, but not a word in my head, Just a filtered story they’d already read. I tailored every party & sculpted this body, But I could never be their Adonis carbon copy. Appalled rushed in & I was disenchanted; They chased my safety, but fled the romantic. So the novelty of me faded, just as expected, They evaded true feelings, acting unaffected. Cued next party on deck, a curated smokescreen, While I drown in the shallow River of Neh-mow-zeen. I felt like a once-coveted toy soldier, Just fighting for a love to last ‘til I’m older. But this life is built like a Cassandran tragedy... Gifted with sight, but who’d ever believe me? I dialed the old crew, craving a familiar spark, But our laughs misfired, the timing went dark. Their memories lived in a world I’d betrayed, A timeline erased by the bargain I’d made. Guilt hit me like a winter-hard subway gust, All for a torso they envy, a body for lust. The price of perfection was friends out of reach, A truth a million likes could never teach. So the novelty of YOU faded, just as expected, I got over my feelings, now you can feel rejected. Your next party on deck lost its deceptive sheen, I’m still drowning in the shallow River of Neh-mow-zeen. I thought sculpted illusions made futures that last, But this celestial body just eclipsed the past. Beauty’s a currency that’s easy to spend; It bought me a crowd, but not a single real friend. So I’m trading in this life of a platinum face card, Because vanity miles won’t take the heart far. I slip from the mirror, the shimmer, the show, To the unfiltered life where the real things grow. I took a sip from the River of LEE-thee, Because I refuse to let you get the best of me. The water may have cleared all my thoughts, But my heart held a space for what was lost. For what I lost. For what you lost. For what we lost. We all lost.