Jars
Jars (Poem)
I feel their eyes like swarms of flies;
Like shadows judging shade
To them I’m just “the one with jars”
A welcome, overstayed
But in these jars is who I am,
Each tear I’ve ever cried,
My blood, my sweat, and each regret,
My Jekyll’s inner Hyde
I keep not secret what I feel
My lips, they tell no lies
I keep no cards stashed up my sleeve
These jars, my only prize
So if it seems I hold too tight
Or gave up long ago
Just know I’ve not, ‘cause all I’ve got
Are things I can’t let go
Kept tight in jars for all to see
They stay here by my side
Despite the fires of judgement cast
From eyes of passers-by
But til the days they look within
At what they fear to show
They’ll go on living, so misled
By what they think they know.
- A. J. Darkholme (April 2015)
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Jars (Lyrics)
[Intro]
They stare my way
Like I’m something strange
Like I should be ashamed
But they... don't even ask my name!
[Verse 1]
I feel their eyes like swarms of flies
That quickly land, then fly away
They think my breath's a waste of air
'Cause to them, I'm just a welcome, overstayed
They call me names under their breath
Whenever I say, "Hey..."
They clutch their purse, or glance behind
Hoping that will help them live another day
[Bridge]
And also wishing that I won't
The lowly stray who's in their way
I wish they'd ask if I'm okay
Not step around me where I lay
There on the ground
Where vermin's found
Wearing clothes all torn and frayed
[Chorus]
No one knows why I'm here
But no one knows why we're here
And if you told them, could they hear?
Or would the words fall on deaf ears?
I have no house
I'm all alone
But you know, to some, the warmest home
Is simply where you choose to roam
[Verse 2]
For now, I sit here on the pavement
While suits get dolled-up for enslavement
Where the gist
In all of this
The only Twist is THEY say "Please, sir, I want some more!"
While I sit quiet
Through their riots
As they wage war
On plat-forms
Made for social diets
Where all that's served
To the unnerved
Is fake approval, hearts reserved
But if you'd sit back and observe
What's really going on
What's really going wrong
Is they can't sit still for too long
[Bridge]
So here I sit
And I find jars
I keep them close
They're my memoirs
Filled with the things that I love most
The mem'ries, tokens, rev'nants, ghosts
Of lives once-lived
On my own time
Not comatose, or like the slime
I know you think I am
When you pass by
But trust me, jars are not my weakness
They’re the proof I’m still alive
I’M STILL ALIVE!
[Chorus]
No one knows why I'm here
But no one knows why we're here
And if you told them, could they hear?
Or would the words fall on deaf ears?
I have no house
I'm all alone
But you know, to some, the warmest home
Is simply where you choose to roam
[Breakdown]
When you breakaway from what they want
Or what they think that you should be
It's then you'll see
The real dream
Is gaining back the wasted time
You'd spent tryin' to match their paradigms
Be yourself, clear your shelf
Of pieces traded of yourself
And grab some jars, come sit by me
Forget the cars, the glitzed-up glee
And come feel what it's like to be free
[Outro]
I do not claim to have it all
Or know the way to go
So cast your fire from across the street
You cannot burn what's burned in me
You look away, afraid to see
That the cracks in your soul... look a lot like me