The Artifice

So proud of the girl I became I'm the greatest pretender When the sky opened up for the rain It just drowned down the ember It's hard to stay lit these days Swore right up to my knees My belief was in bold letters But the pang in my gut tried and true Tied my unruly laces together And I tripped as I laid out the faith It's an act spun in spit these days And we know this artifice Isn't worth its weight in the vertigo That started this The players are buckled and bruised The pieces are saying the game doesn't really exist It's a whole lot to lose But it's the catalyst Suspicion is stacked to ceiling They're dealing now down to the quarters But the heaviest prize they defend Chokes and dies on these shoulders It's hard to stay put these days Souvenirs of escapists They've scattered the pages The pride's in insistence Beat the rush of the fight As you lay on the knives of indifference It pulls from what's left of the chase The fretter's on foot these days And we know the stake in this It doesn't hold its place When the end-be-all is facing us Left with tatters of hope What besides that is even proven real It's a steal from the starving But it's a hell of a steal (Take what you can) It's a hell of a steal (and take what you can) It's a hell of steal (now you take what you can) It's a hell of a steal