Suffocating Pretty

They said we looked perfect
But perfect was choking me

You made us look like a dream
To hide the way you silenced me
I smiled on cue, played the role
But beauty cost me all control
Outside we shined, inside I sank
A love so sweet, it always stank
I lost my voice to keep the peace
In a love that wouldn't let me breathe

You called it magic, I called it mask
You never saw the toll you asked

Suffocating pretty, ribbons tight, couldn't fight, just smile and freeze
Hands around my ribcage love, but never asked if I could breathe
Dressed in pain, but you called it grace, locked in style, erased my face
You kissed my cheek, broke all my seams–now pretty just means fake to me

Every photo was a lie
Caught in frames where I'd just cry
You loved the image, not the girl
Turned my life into your world
I wore your pride like perfume
But slowly died inside that room
Felt like porcelain on a shelf
Polished, trapped, losing myself

You kissed my lips and missed my heart
I was breaking from the start

Suffocating pretty, ribbons tight, couldn't fight, just smile and freeze
Hands around my ribcage love, but never asked if I could breathe
Dressed in pain, but you called it grace, locked in style, erased my face
You kissed my cheek, broke all my seams–now pretty just means fake to me

I cut the bow, I tore the dress
Escaped your grip, confessed the mess
It wasn't love, just your facade
Now I breathe without applause

Suffocating pretty, I spit that gloss, dropped that pose, no more pretend
You wanted dollhouse devotion, I want the air back that you spent
This isn't hate, it's truth in speed, no poetry, just what I need
You lost the right to say my name, I'm not your mirror, not your flame

No more perfect, no more pain
I'm alive outside the frame