L-I-S-T-E-N,
listen to that song for the one thousandth time,
because something in it reminds you of lyrics you're hiding,
the words reflecting the things unsaid,
the feelings that never break free,
hear the silence,
be the only one to hear the laughter of those not laughing,
again the silence,
s-i-l-e-n-c-e,
there’s a two inch gap,
a hole,
a blackness of nothing,
numbness,
spent years trying to empty,
trying to feel,
perfection rings of a dry silence,
steal, stole, stealing,
like the sun drying drops on window panes,
steal the smile off my lips,
I say no more,
remember the combination to the box of happiness,
break free from the world of silence,
make people hear,
say it a little louder,
that’s right,
be loud,
because when the sun goes down,
escape the blackness,
soar above dusk by laughing for no reason,
one real laugh from a place you didn’t know existed,
because when the laughter starts,
I promise it will ripple until the sun slips back,
so you can breathe,
not just the breathes required to live,
take in the air necessary to laugh again,
S-T-O-P,
forget everything to fill your life back up,
inflate the gap instead of gently slipping back into that cave,
don’t let sorrow be comfortable,
don’t be invisible,
I’m telling you that life in a red balloon,
soaring above,
is fun,
laugh just because it’s a gift,
an ability,
a treasure,
so fill the sky with a rainbow of floating light,
so when the sun in life burns too bright or when the moon doesn’t provide enough light,
remember that helium makes you sound funny,
and laugh,
until you and those beside,
illuminate the night,
N-I-G-H-T.