Defy

What is it about this place
that makes us turn to dust?

Is it the sad love songs
or the fools listening to them?

I've been trying
to make peace
with the way
the world works

The way the drunk girls get theirs
The way the empty cups
never fill again

The way the do-gooders bleed 
a little bit more than the others
And the crooks just get away with it all

Maybe it's the dust
I should be longing for
Trade my money and good-will
I want the damn dust

Give me the cool arms
of a kind cement

To rest my head
while I hum bullshit words
to the tune of bicycles
passing by

Cussing at the kids
Wishing I was one of them

Another generation of lifers
waiting for tomorrow to be
something better than
they were promised

All the while
Here I am
A question mark
on a sidewalk

Crying about the past
and how it called me names
And how I miss my parents
even though they're not gone

And how every time 
I sit in this room
or hear that song
I think of all the films
where the good guy dies

Eyes still open
with blood spitling
from his mouth
And it's beautiful
in black and white
but it still hurts
It still makes you wish
it all worked out a little different

So here's to us
The lost boys and lost girls
grasping at any and all
the gods will let us have

Jumping from the rooftops
And leaving our capes behind
Waiting for the day
We'll turn to dust
Or maybe not waiting
But, instead defying

The new holocausts and the end times
The pretty girls under dirty bar-lights
The calm and then storm
The lightning hitting me
with every single step I take
So often that I actually check my back
for a sign that says “Kick me”
Or maybe it says “Pick me”, I don’t know
I can hardly tell the difference these days

But I’m sick and tired
of feeling sorry for myself
So take this as warning or a promise
Or a fist fight waiting in the dark
I’ve done the time and lost my mind
Now all I need is a spark
And I’ll light this sucker
Bleed it dry, for all its soul is worth
And here we’ll stand, dust to dust
The last good fools on Earth

Proud and warm
In the glow of a thousand cities
we never knew
Happy and light
looking up at the sky
A few billion stars
staring right back at us
Just another thing we’ll defy

---

Written by Chad Sugg