Charming, never so wisely focused on the path of fools
Professing that the sky is blue when clearly it is gray
The sun cannot persuade the moon; the moon reflects the truth
It died a million years before we had something to say

When I was just a boy, the shadows gathered round my bed
My mother called them nightmares; they’ll leave as you grow
But in my teens, the doctor called them “Episodes in his head.”
“Give him two of these each day to counteract his dread.”

Too much dull information saps the senses till they’re numb
Facts and figures squirm like worms inside a fragile mind
We need to slow him down a bit, not make him look dumb
Just placate him with vague reasons so his mental knots unwind

Back then, I was an outcast, loner, troublemaker, gothic creep
Hid inside my music, lyrics soon replaced my puzzled thoughts
Music moved my soul, fantasies became my sleep
Nothing was the sum of all the piles of nothing I was taught

Then a friend appeared, she called me strange, said I was weird
Her name remains a secret, changed, a ghost inside my poems
We talked about the day’s demise, fools we suffer, life we feared
How we’re judged by friends we keep, if we choose to live alone

How medications mask a problem that in truth did not exist
But doctors need their money, so they poke around your pain
I sold mine and felt much better, no more facts for them to twist
You can do the same thing; heal your heart to heal your brain

There’s no shadows stealing sunshine, no dark spirits in your bed
Once you see, your eyes will open, love will guide your steps
As for death, he’s always waiting; just ignore him while you live
No fear inside the future, words are useless without breath

She was wise beyond years, old souls wander, much the same
Though I did not know back then, angels come in many forms
She saw something I was missing. I was focused on her name
She was focused on atonement, while I was focused on the storm

Talking on the phone for hours, wilted flowers (constant buzz)
First kiss in the cemetery, midnight fairy, shooting star
Wishing for her heaven, a wisp of perfume, almost was
The rest was in my mind (pretend), she only went so far

Moving one life to another, off to college, there she goes
Never heard from her again, in retrospect, I miss her still
And fog will clear, as fears will fly, perpetually, the river flows
The portrait of a life unfinished, missing colors that we fill

When we’re young, we view life through a paper towel tube
The world seems small; the walls we build are always closing in
Trying to find our way, we follow trends, abandon truth
Give our souls away for free in endless efforts to fit in

Pimples on our faces, bits and traces of a child
Changing like chameleons, fashion flames, and so we follow
Personas we replace, running scared, running wild
Choking on existence, food for reckless thoughts we swallow

Snapshot of some teenage years, could have gone so wrong
Cannot see the future when you’re crawling in your skin
Finding love was nothing more than lyrics in a song
What I got in time outshone a life that could have been

TM DiSarro
©2026 TM DiSarro / MindScapes Publishing
From: THE MEMORY OF RAIN