I’ve stared these walls down for hours
I’ve watched cracks in the plaster as they crawl the wall Encouraged by the stirring, in foundations
Brought by the changes of the elements

I hung the paintings oh so strategically
Trying to mask the imperfections from the naked eye
Like makeup to mask the signature of time
I beg my conscious not to speak of what it has seen
Or what it knows

Erase the past behind these walls, erase the past
But the rafters weep at the rain
Floorboards bend like a crooked spine
Muttering gossips at each step they die to tell
A stench of mold permeates out from its hiding place now

Walls insulated with spite, abuse, addictions
Problems I’m too afraid to face alone
Bodies I’ve locked in with bitterness
The ones that hurt
The ones that said that I couldn’t be what I want to be
Doors open I can never close
Everything is swayed I’ll keep a fresh coat on the outer skin
A set of wax plants on the front porch

Those who pass by this old estate
Well they will never know Well isn’t that the name of this old game
A fraud, mislead by false by appearance
Loved ones, drifters wait outside
Forgotten are the times I welcomed people in through these doors How much longer will the monotonous words hold their ground Everything is just fine

But now my world is shaking
And out of the cracks the snakes creep out
Exposing my rot I’m not as strong as I make you believe
As a matter of fact, beneath the skin I am crumbling

Like the incision to separate the infection from tissue
Oh carpenter, renovate the old so what’s old can become new