I am an apology,

A mistake made to be amended-

A sin to repent.

When the fires that lick my wounds die,

And you look into the ashes-

Will you see me,

Or the shell of me?

A face in the crowd cannot be seen

From your high stage,

From your exalted throne-

But if our eyes meet

And you examine me like a lab rat-

Will you see me,

Or the shell of me?

I am a mistake-

Made by many,

But acknowledged by few.

If I fester and grow,

They root me and plant a new flower,

With new ways to

Make the same mistake again.

Do you see me,

Or the shell of me?

There is a roadblock-

Tall and expansive- that

Is forming around me like a Wall.

So now I am nothing-

Nothing at all-

But a sea of deceptions

With a white-washed window.

Can you see me,

Or the shell of me?

When we melt in the strobe light,

Before our biggest recognition,

We accumulate rage,

Depression, regret, fear-

And we grow with in these monsters.

I am the delinquent matter-

In rebellion, in lieu of this fact-

I am the shadow on the sun.

Do you see me,

Or the shell of me?

And when we meet the sundown

That signals our good night-

We look back and review our life.

We watch our trials and tribulations like a film,

Like a production on a lighted stage.

And when the crowd watches you-

So eager for the fall,

Yet so inspired by survival,

If only for a moment-

Will they see you,

Or the shell of you?