Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

​

Shoulda—what a sham it is.
Bold-faced lies about what is.
Lies I tell without disgrace,
Just to save my paper face.

 

Coulda—if I only had.
Now in penance, I stay sad.
Looking good or I might die—
My goodness lives in your eyes.

 

Worry not that I’ll forget;
I’ve adopted your mindset.
Underneath your constant gaze,
Shoulda haunts my endless days.

 

Deep beneath, I know I’m bad.
That’s why that I’ve been had.
There’s no out of this quagmire—
I’m condemned to be a liar.

 

The more I did-a what I shoulda,
The more I knew I never coulda.
The more I tried to be that guy,
Another part of me just died.

 

So honor me—it's only fair.
I bore the weight so you would care.
I’ve shoulda’d hard through all my life—
A Purple Heart for all my strife.