Paper Dolls

I know you want to be the only one,
The reason for his brightest smile,
The blanket that warms him the best,
The most entertaining company,
The only  one who feathers his nest.

But I've actually worn your shoes
On the very path that you've walked.
In that blanket I've been wrapped,
While keeping him company,
In those times where yours has lacked.

You're just his paper doll.
He can easily toss you away.
Dress yourself up, dress yourself down,
No matter who's keeping who company,
Or how many others he has come around.

We are not his only ones.
Just a hint of what makes him smile.
Beneath that blanket the cold truth lies,
Unrevealed even to the best company,
The unshed tears that he silently cries.

A flock of paper dolls
He tends to with delicate care.
He dresses us up, dresses us down,
Sacrificing solitude for starved company,
Knowing we will always keep coming around.

03.29.17
©Kerri L. Stanley

Redemption and Forgiveness

From the shadows of another room,
I could feel your cold, cold temper.
And the things you saw and the things she did
Might not mean what you choose to remember.

But you should know it's been a long time coming,
And that the past has a way of returning.
Your alibis have become all too tangled and weak,
Lost to the misguidance you've been yearning.

And everything that really needs to be said,
You know, there are no words for yet.
How to right this fragmented hurt and denial,
Where is the redemption in all of this brokenness?

You've grown tired of holding her up,
A fragile being who has lost her way.
So you'll gloss over the truth, distort all the facts,
Cause it's easier than throwing it all away.

A lost sheep in your flock who needs extra care,
Who really can't be saved unless you set her free.
The question that really begs to be asked,
Is who is to follow and who is to lead?

And everything that really needs to be said,
You know, there are no words for yet.
How to right this fragmented hurt and denial,
Where is the redemption in all of this brokenness?

From the shadows of another room,
I could hear your lies and whispers.
And the things you saw and the things she did,
Are the very things you choose not to remember.

And everything that really needs to be said,
You know, there are no words for yet.
How to right this fragmented hurt and denial,
Where is the redemption in all of this brokenness?
Can you ever find in your heart forgiveness?

03.12.17
©Kerri L. Stanley