the first time i met sarah she said that if i wanted to ever be an artist some day
i would have to dig deep inside myself and create something of expression. and i remember telling her i already sold ten thousand records and felt like i had put in enough time to at least call myself an artist. and she said that creating entertainment and creating art are very different things
and she said that the only way that you can really create art is if it's honest expression of something. you can't express yourself if you don't know who you are. i was upset that she said that but there was still a part of me that was inspired. and uh
looking back on the experience of creating music and putting everything i can into it
i have learned that it wasn't worth. it wasn't worth losing the ones that i had to to get here. and so she challenged me to write a poem about the things i wish i knew how to say. that-that's what this poem is: a response to that
i guess we can take shortcuts in the darkest corners because the highest earners scale the mountain with the quickest and the thick of it
and i would give up any of it to slow down
cause maybe the sound won't be quick
but we can at least make it painless
and this game is the distribution of weight
angles lights trying to be a star
while getting hit by comets and vomit
which we eat to keep down negative youtube comments
the spotlight isn't part of the skillset
the void of cohesive thought
when this love gives a lot and takes very little
it's brittle
so you have to love what you do and stay true and find the right formula to not be bothered by the side effects
hide your legs
hide your neck
hide your tears
and hide your fears
and pretend i'm the fearless leader you want me to be
because without this fake personality
i would be performing in the streets
watching friends turn enemies or even worse
distant memories
or even worse
love turned to apathy with a distant voice in my head whispering
this is the price you have to pay if you want to sell anything