Exalt Yourself

Stand and choke on darkness,
Behind endless velvet folds.
Drop the empty spray paint can,
Decoration time is through.
Sway alone and hyperventilate,
Behind a stage you never knew.
Feel the cloth slide up your face,
And smear your falling tears.
The curtains creeping up your thigh,
As a voice whispers in your ear.

Shush now dear,
Be quiet now,
Prepare to sing your lines.
I feel your chest,
It’s filled with fear,
At the thought of freezing in the light.
Well all that dread is justified,
I’ll share the terror of the truth -
There are no lines.
The show’s a lie.
And you never learned to dance.
So cry now dear,
Sob good and loud,
And feel the floods illuminate your shame.
Stand there crying.
Absorb it all.
They’re waiting - take your time.

There’s “dance for us, pathetic fuck”,
Sprayed up and down the walls,
And a thousand sobbing pairs of eyes,
Peering out a thousand mirrors,
Propped against a thousand empty seats,
Scattered all around the hall.
You feel the panic crushing down,
As you’re frozen in their stare,
So trash your limbs,
And belt it out,
Try to make them care.

Keep dancing, dunce,
Sing your song,
They paid a hefty price.
Give them what they came here for,
And wail deep into the night.
Keep on going!
Don’t you stop!
They cannot look away!
Jig until they clap for you,
Or until your body drops.
And when that happens,
You’ll drag yourself,
Back into the dark,
Where you'll wait,
With bated breath,
Hoping for a cheer.

But as the moments tick on by,
Laying on the wooden floor,
You'll feel that familiar voice,
Creep up to you once more -
Cup your ear and listen close,
You can barely hear the sound,
Of a thousand nonexistent claps,
From a thousand different you’s.
They left the room,
Without a peep,
They didn't even bother boo.

There's no one left,
I promise you,
But why don’t we take a peek?
So pull apart that curtain,
And stare between the folds.
There's a thousand lengths of lifeless velvet,
Reflected in endless lifeless rows,
And “try again, pathetic fuck”,
Sprayed across the walls like prose.

So lose it dear.
Scream out loud.
Convulse wildly on the floor.
Move your limbs erratically,
In some demented type of dance.
Maybe someone will find you here,
And see beauty in this mess.

So thrash away, pathetic fuck,
Under the mirror up above.
There's someone new,
Staring down at you,
With eyes completely lacking hate.
You’re seething now,
And screaming “no”,
As they slowly start to grin.
“A masterpiece, you've done it friend.”
While they begin to form a clap.
But before they do,
You grab that can,
And heave it towards their head.
And just like that,
Their smile cracks,
And the mirror starts to rain.
The jagged shards fall one by one,
Landing in your lap.

You’re bleeding now,
It’s finally done,
As the darkness starts to grow.
So rejoice now dear,
They all are gone,
So give your encore to the void.
Thrash around in sweat and blood,
And paint unadulterated joy.

So dance my dear,
Freely now,
And liberate yourself from hell.

So sing my dear,
Proudly now,
And exalt your broken shell.

So live my dear,
Happy now,
Having wished yourself farewell.