Russel Grawols

It started softly
Very lightly
It knocked on my hollow cage
It silenced the storm rage
...

In Public
A performance we all know
Keeping steady and on the surface
Calm and Ready
...

I didn't come out here to freeze. That's what I said to you in the cold winter of 1986. You had seen the way I walked and the way I tried. I don't think you were there to keep me going. You were a steady wind blowing on my flame and I refused. You kept shouting at me to get on a plane and head on home. I don't belong here. That's what you said to me. You don't understand I cannot give up now. I would have to explain I was wrong in plenty of ways, I am a fool. I would have to apologize to those that I have wronged, that it was me who got it wrong. I would have to go back with a frown worn out on my face that is nothing but a mute expression that says nothing to those who watch it.

I would have to look at myself with realized eyes. I would hide from my own reflection and I would find solace in my own land of fantasy. Until your words broke me and I was but a fall leaf, shifting prideful color and falling to the ground. I would have them find me hanging, frost bitten and a heart devoid of life.
...

A sweet girl
Innocent and Curious
She spoke like a textbook
Yet I found myself intrigued
...