Against the current

To defy or tranquilize
Pretense to assimilate
Normalized till accepted
Caution falls to attrition

Keep my head above the surface
Holding on against the current

Raise the glass to crown the heights
To accelerate
Inhale the easy answer
The burning embers wait
Traverse the gateway
In a haze of smoke
Hits to pills until
No other way to cope
Rendered lifeless

Keep my head above the surface
Holding on against the current

Rivers of toxins
Dragged under and down
Caught in a torrent
Until they disappear
Warnings fall on deaf ears
Fractured lives slowly break
Wounds and scars last for life
Ruins left in their wake
Repulsed by all that I see
Waves break over me
Everlasting loyalty
Straight edge in contrast
To the conscious corpses
That drift lifeless past

Keep my head above the surface
Straight edge against the current