How long
Can pressure be applied
Before the coal turns to dust and you realize there is no diamond?

How long
Will you keep saying "You've tried"
Before dismay replaces trust and you finally stop trying?

How long
Can you keep adding straws,
Before the camel's back breaks and you have to put it down?

How long
Will you keep laying down laws,
Before the obedience is fake and the relationship drowns?

How long
Will you take to understand
That you're breaking them, not helping them,

And all along,
When you put them on a trophy stand,
You were replacing them, not loving them?

Can a medal replace trust?
Can't you see that pressure didn't make a diamond,
But broke them down to dust?

Can trophies replace love?
See that living your dream doesn't make a happier person,
But leaves nothing but a husk.

They're not a marionette,
So cut the strings.

They're not a dog,
So let them off the leash.

They're not you,
So give up your dream,

And learn to let them
Be who they want to be.


How long
Will you fail to understand
That they're not you, and you're not them?