Damage

The bare-faced cheek of playing weak
Has left me none the stronger after all
The gems that I've caressed and then just left
Become my signature, my call
Chipped away bit by bit
The pedestal on which I sit
Teeters on a slender edge
I save my neck and lose my head

You are one on these dear things
Whose gentle glow I've muddied with my hands
Pretending we just tripped the light fantastic
And that you will understand
Because I won't go all the way
I think that I can proudly
My virtue's made of sterner stuff
My bottom line, enough's enough
Words to wash the worries of a woman
A thousand miles away

The simple smile, the kindly word
The earnest wish overheard
I might as well if you don't mind
Now I' m feeling so inclined
It's not like she'll ever know
You think I'd tell her, Oh God no
Forgetting for an hour of bliss
All the damage in one kiss

The empty hours of aftermath
Are all I ever get to take back home
Where I can get back on my cross
And suffer for the sins that I disown
Hammering the nails back in
The devil wears a tidy grin
Knowing that it doesn't hurt
But sure to kill me soon enough
The good love of a hundred different women
Poisoning within

The simple smile…
The simple smile…