Gossip Won’t Kill You

There’s a silence in the way you walk

A quiet glory

‘Won’t take no prisoners, she won’t’

You hear them talk, but it doesn’t matter

Not to you

They’re the gum for the show anyway

You can tell it by the way they talk,

How they move

Oh yes, you’ve seen them before, watched them,

Heard them even.

From your place in the corner of the coffee shop.

They’ve watched you.

Do you think they’ve realised?

No, can’t have

‘Won’t take no prisoners’, remember?

Nobody gonna see past this façade, not today

Not tomorrow, not ever. Not yesterday

You’ve got your quiet glory still

It isn’t true anyway

You’re not as cold as they say, not really

You have your friends, and you think you remember how to laugh

But it’s been a long time

Since that bubbling giggle slipped past the mask

Oh, girly. You know

But it was a long time

You don’t care anyway.

You’ll smile your quiet smile and leave it at that

Reserved, it’s all you are

Held back, with reason

But that’s past. This is today

Today, you’ll walk.

‘Think she’ll kill me if I pinch her butt? Or just take me prisoner?’

Laughter. They know you’ve heard

But it doesn’t matter. You don’t care

You’ll keep walking today, in your silent way.

Don’t pause, like hell

But there’s a gap in the floor

So you’ll stumble, slightly

Catch the door. It doesn’t matter

Today you’ll walk

With your quiet glory