I burned every letter, every lie,
Screamed your name ‘til the echo died.
I thought if I bled enough, I’d heal,
But your ghost is nothing I can feel.
Used to shake when I heard your song,
Now it’s just noise I hum along.
All the cracks you left behind 
They just let the sunlight climb.

You were a storm I couldn’t tame,
Now you’re just a forgotten name.

I don’t even hate you anymore,
That kind of fire’s not worth the war.
I wasted nights on wishing pain,
But hate’s just love that lost its name.
And you don’t live in me no more 
I locked that door, I swept the floor.
I don’t even hate you anymore.

I used to daydream you’d come undone,
Choke on the lies, pay for the fun.
But revenge tastes bitter cold,
And I’ve got better dreams to hold.
You were thunder, I was rain,
We made a flood and drowned the flame.
But even floods run out of tide,
And I’ve found higher ground to climb.

You were a storm I couldn’t tame,
Now you’re just a forgotten name.

I don’t even hate you anymore,
That kind of fire’s not worth the war.
I wasted nights on wishing pain,
But hate’s just love that lost its name.
And you don’t live in me no more 
I locked that door, I swept the floor.
I don’t even hate you anymore.

Hate was a way to keep you close,
A poison I learned to overdose.
But silence tastes better than rage,
And I’m finally walking off your stage.

I’ve got no tears, no knives, no fight,
Just the cleanest kind of night.

I don’t even hate you anymore,
That kind of fire’s not worth the war.
I wasted nights on wishing pain,
But hate’s just love that lost its name.
You’re not the weight I carry ‘round,
You’re just a shadow on the ground.
I don’t even hate you anymore.

I don’t love you. I don’t hate you.
I just don’t need you.

Hate

You say “I’m different,” yeah, I’ve heard that line,
Comes free with every guy who’s outta time.
You flirt like you’re still on the playground swing,
Twenty-something body, high school thing.
You text like love’s a sport you play,
But baby, I’m not your trophy case.
You want a cheer, a little praise,
Then vanish when it’s time to stay.

You call it “fun,” I call it fiction,
You call me “babe,” I call it addiction.
I should’ve seen it, your attention’s on a loop,
You don’t need a girlfriend, just a substitute.

You’re so childish,
Building hearts like Lego bricks, then break ‘em just for kicks.
Call it love, call it a game,
But you’ll never learn a grown-up’s name.
You’re childish,
Baby boy with brand new toys,
You chase the noise, then leave the void.
It’s kinda tragic, kinda stylish 
You’re not deep, you’re just… childish.

You still brag about who kissed you first,
Like heartbreak’s just a leaderboard.
Every girl’s a mission, not a soul,
You want connection? That’s a goal.
You say “commitment” like it’s math,
Add, subtract, divide, then laugh.
You wear your lies like vintage threads,
And I’m the fool who bought what you said.

I thought I saw a man in there,
But turns out it was dress-up wear.
You play pretend so damn well,
But even Peter Pan grows stale.

You’re so childish,
Building hearts like Lego bricks, then break ‘em just for kicks.
Call it love, call it a game,
But you’ll never learn a grown-up’s name.
You’re childish,
Baby boy with brand new toys,
You chase the noise, then leave the void.
It’s kinda tragic, kinda stylish 
You’re not deep, you’re just… childish.

Do you even hear yourself when you talk?
Do you even care who you mock?
Your ego’s a balloon I popped 
Now you’re just air and TikTok talk.
Guess some boys never leave recess,
Just older faces, same old mess.
You think love’s a dare, not a test,
Congrats, you passed, with zero left.

You don’t love, you collect.
You don’t feel, you reflect.
All your “I miss you”s are rehearsed,
You call it charm, I call it worse.

You’re so childish,
Building hearts like Lego bricks, then break ‘em just for kicks.
Call it love, call it a game,
But you’ll never learn a grown-up’s name.
You’re childish,
Baby boy with brand new toys,
You chase the noise, then leave the void.
It’s cinematic, automatic 
Every lie, so charismatic.
It’s kinda tragic, kinda stylish 
But boy, you’ll always be… childish.

Maybe someday you’ll grow tall enough
To reach the kind of love you only bluff.
Till then,
Enjoy your playground, baby.

Childish

White lace and borrowed light,
I’m walking slow into the night.
Church bells hum like a warning sign,
Everyone smiles, I fall in line.
Painted roses, frozen grin,
A storybook I never picked.
Every step feels predesigned,
Someone else wrote the storyline.

I used to dream of open skies,
Now all I see are shuttered eyes.

Welcome to my Beautiful Nightmare,
Where perfect looks like quiet despair.
Where love is neat, the edges clean,
And I’m a ghost inside a dream.
A picket fence, a wedding ring,
A lullaby that doesn’t sing.
The ending everyone would choose 
But not the girl who hates to lose.

Morning coffee, same four walls,
Perfume fading in the halls.
Little footsteps down the stairs,
A life of lists and folded prayers.
Neighbors waving, soft applause,
Another doll wrapped up in laws.
A smile I wear like borrowed skin,
Perfect life I’m drowning in.

I had a map, I lost the fire,
Now I live someone else’s choir.

Welcome to my Beautiful Nightmare,
Where perfect looks like quiet despair.
Where love is neat, the edges clean,
And I’m a ghost inside a dream.
A picket fence, a wedding ring,
A lullaby that doesn’t sing.
The ending everyone would choose 
But not the girl who hates to lose.

They said this is what dreams are made of,
But they forgot the cost of soft gloves.
They gave me gold, I wanted flame,
A perfect life without a name.
I thought forever meant something wild,
Not being caged and labeled “wife.”

I don’t want safety dressed as art,
I want a pulse that breaks my heart.
This isn’t love, it’s porcelain,
A fairytale I can’t fit in.

Welcome to my Beautiful Nightmare,
Where every breath is perfect air.
Where every dream’s already set,
And every choice is just regret.
A house, a smile, a name to wear,
A crown of gold I cannot bear.
A story written without me there,
My Beautiful Nightmare.

No screams, no pain, no wrong, no right…
Just a girl disappearing into the night.

Beautiful Nightmare

You say you’ve changed, but you play the same,
Every move another mindless game.
You talk big, fold fast,
Every “forever” never seems to last.
You like control, I like truth,
You want a mirror, I wanted proof.
So I lay my heart, you roll your dice 
Guess I’ve lost enough to feel alive.

I’m done rehearsing love that breaks,
Done bleeding for your small mistakes.

Rock, paper… and nothing new,
I’m tired of losing just to you.
Every time I win, it feels like bruises,
Every tie’s another ruse that uses.
Rock, paper… I’ll change the rule,
Maybe love was never built for fools.
If I can’t find it in your world,
Maybe I’ll find it in… another girl.

You built your pride like a paper wall,
One touch, and it begins to fall.
You fake deep, I fake sleep,
We both know the lies we keep.
I’ve played nice, I’ve played fair,
But I’m done pretending I still care.
If love’s a fight, I’ll break the ring 
I need something real, not a king.

I’m done with boys who never grow,
Done with hearts they never show.

Rock, paper… and nothing true,
You always pick what cuts me through.
Every round just leaves me colder,
Every word, another shoulder colder.
Rock, paper… I’ll play alone,
Your type’s a script I’ve overgrown.
If I can’t find it in your world,
Maybe I’ll find it in… another girl.

You call it crazy, I call it peace,
Maybe I just need release.
Your world’s made of rules and noise,
I’m done being one of the toys.
I’ve folded hearts, I’ve cracked the code,
Now I’m walking my own road.

No need to say it, you already know,
Love can bloom where pain won’t go.
You taught me loss, you taught me cost,
But not all good things come embossed.

Rock, paper… I’m breaking free,
No more games defining me.
Every scar a silver swirl,
And maybe I’ll find love…
in another girl.

Rock, paper…
We all cut, we all burn…
But some of us finally learn

Rock, Paper, …

You walked in like a sculpture half alive,
Pretty face, but not much goin’ on inside,
I thought maybe I could give you some design,
So I carved you out, gave you my time
Made you talk, made you laugh, even made you mine.
But baby, you were soft between my hands,
Just a puddle in a suit, tryin’ hard to stand,
And every time I blinked, you’d fall apart again
Oh, how could I ever love a man made of sand?

I tried to fix you, dress you up in shine,
But your heartbeat never kept up with mine.

You’re my Clayman, spinning on my table,
I shaped your smile, you said “thank you,” like you’re grateful
A puppet in my stop-motion show,
Always doin’ what you’re told, never “no.”
I played the strings, you played pretend,
But baby, statues crack, and stories end.
You’re my Clayman
Too easy to break, too boring to mend.

You’d nod along like I wrote your every thought,
I’d joke, you’d laugh,  rehearsed on the dot.
I said, “Babe, have a dream,” but you forgot,
Guess your head’s more porcelain than I thought.
And maybe I was cruel to stay,
When your eyes looked empty, painted that way.
But I was lonely, and clay don’t fight back,
Till one day I dropped you,  oops, crack.

You said I’m cold, but you never had a flame,
Just a hollow echo of my name.

You’re my Clayman, spinning on my table,
I shaped your smile, you said “thank you,” like you’re grateful
A puppet in my stop-motion show,
Always doin’ what you’re told, never “no.”
I played the strings, you played pretend,
But baby, statues crack, and stories end.
You’re my Clayman
Too easy to break, too boring to mend.

Maybe I should’ve let the kiln burn hot,
Maybe you’d’ve grown a soul, maybe not.
But every kiss felt airbrushed fake,
Like kissing someone I helped create.
Now you’re sitting on a dusty shelf,
A masterpiece that bored itself.
And I laugh, ‘cause I made you that way,
But I’m the fool who stayed to play.

Oh, Clayman,
How’d you make apathy so romantic?
How’d I miss that heart of plastic?
Guess I wanted chaos, not a mannequin.

You’re my Clayman, too safe, too stable,
I built your world, you stayed so… label.
A shadow of a spark I used to know,
Frozen mid-frame in my stop-motion show.
Now I’m gone, you’re stuck mid-bend—
Fade to gray, roll the end.
You’re my Clayman
Too soft to hate, too dull to defend.

So here’s to all the boys who never move,
Perfect on paper, paper through and through.
I need fire, I need flaws, not pretend
Goodbye, Clayman, this is the end.

Clayman

You walked in wrapped in perfume smoke,
with stories you rehearsed in gold,
your smile, too polished, too composed,
I almost saw the cracks unfold.
Velvet words on trembling glass,
echo soft, but they never last.
I taste the shine, I taste the lie,
in your reflection, I see why.

You hide in glitter, whisper sin,
your truth dissolved beneath your skin.
But every shimmer that you cast
I see the ghost behind the glass.

Your crystal mask, it shatters slow,
a thousand lies in afterglow.
Transparent heart, so paper-thin,
I breathe, you break, I see within.
Your crystal mask, how fragile grace,
I watch it fall across your face.
You think you shine, but light reveals,
the love you fake, the wounds you steal.

You love the stage, the mirrored eyes,
you choreograph your thin disguise.
But I can hear the hollow hum,
beneath the charm, beneath your tongue.
You wear your guilt like stolen pearls,
you cage your shame in plastic worlds.
But truth is patient, truth is kind—
it waits for glass to realign.

The way you talk, the way you gleam,
like static caught inside a dream.
But darling, I was never blind
I see the fractures you designed.

Your crystal mask, it shatters slow,
a thousand lies in afterglow.
Transparent heart, so paper-thin,
I breathe, you break, I see within.
Your crystal mask, how fragile grace,
I watch it fall across your face.
You think you shine, but light reveals,
the love you fake, the wounds you steal.

I hear the echo of your pride,
like glass collapsing from inside.
The sound is cruel, but almost sweet
a quiet end beneath my feet.
And maybe love was never real,
just shards of what you tried to feel.
I touch the truth, it cuts my palm
but pain can be a kind of calm.

Your crystal mask, it melts away,
no script, no shine, no masquerade.
I see you now, the boy beneath,
no throne, no crown, just shattered teeth.
Your crystal mask, so clear, so thin
I watched it fade, I let you in.
But now the glass is all I see
a mirror cracked, reflecting me.

Crystal boy, crystal lie,
you tried to glow, you tried to hide.
But light forgives what glass denies,
and I…
I see you breaking.
I see you breaking.

Crystal Mask

You said forever like a dare,
With sugar smoke still in the air.
Your halo cracked, your words decayed,
And I just smiled, then walked away.
I kept your ghost beneath my tongue,
Your name still burns, it tastes like sun.
You wanted love without the mess,
I gave you more, you gave me less.

Now my veins hum low, a warning sound,
A sweetness spoiled, a curse unbound.

I’m toxic,  don’t breathe me in,
I bloom like venom under skin.
You wanted soft, you wanted kind,
Now taste the chaos left behind.
I’m toxic,  no turning back,
I learned revenge wears red and black.
You built the monster, fed the flame,
Now every scar remembers your name.

I see your shadow everywhere,
Like fingerprints I used to wear.
You taught me silence cuts the most,
So now my quiet haunts like ghosts.
I wear my hurt like shattered glass,
Reflecting all that couldn’t last.
And if I rot, I’ll do it proud,
At least I’m real, not hollow-loud.

You said I’d break, I said, “We’ll see.”
Guess heartbreak breeds divinity.

I’m toxic,  don’t breathe me in,
I bloom like venom under skin.
You wanted soft, you wanted kind,
Now taste the chaos left behind.
I’m toxic,  no turning back,
I learned revenge wears red and black.
You built the monster, fed the flame,
Now every scar remembers your name.

You used to call me gentle, pure,
Now every word’s a war, for sure.
I’m not the girl you thought you knew,
She’s gone,  I’m what’s left of truth.
You say I changed, but that’s the cost,
Of loving someone built for loss.

My love was water, now it’s wine,
Drink too deep, you’ll drown in time.
My touch once healed, now it destroys,
Mercy’s dead, so are your toys.

I’m toxic, a rose with teeth,
A heartbreak dressed in melody.
No saving grace, no sweet refrain,
Just lightning running through my veins.
I’m toxic,  I can’t undo,
The damage that began with you.
You wanted love, you got a curse,
And baby, I could do much worse.

Don’t say my name again,
It’s poison on your breath.
You made this version of me 
You get what’s left.

Toxic

Oh look at you, cape on the floor,
Saving the world from a half-closed door.
Flexing that ego, gold and loud,
Just a boy in a borrowed crown.
Your armor’s plastic, shiny fake,
Paper muscles bend and break.
You call it power, I call it play,
Little boy lost in a comic cliché.

Oh, how tragic, how divine,
Every mirror feeds your line.

Super hero, flying low,
Big show, but everyone knows.
Your cape’s too small, your heart’s too cold,
And your legend’s getting old.
Super hero, plastic spine,
Can’t save a soul, not even mine.
And no girl’s waiting at the tower 
You’re just a boy who loves the power.

You wear your pain like a costume fit,
But every tear’s a counterfeit.
You talk like gods, act like kings,
But boys with toys don’t fix real things.
Your stories sound like Saturday nights,
Cartoon shadows, neon lights.
Big words, no weight, no spine,
Just a punchline out of time.

Oh, how tragic, how divine,
You built your world on your own lie.

Super hero, flying low,
Big show, but everyone knows.
Your cape’s too small, your heart’s too cold,
And your legend’s getting old.
Super hero, plastic spine,
Can’t save a soul, not even mine.
And no girl’s waiting at the tower 
You’re just a boy who loves the power.

Bang bang, you missed the shot,
Truth’s a villain you forgot.
Crowns don’t shine in plastic hands,
And I don’t kneel for weaker men.

Go save your world in your head,
Play your games in your bed.
I’ve outgrown fairytales,
And boys who wear capes always fail.

Super hero, flying low,
Big show, but everyone knows.
Your cape’s too small, your heart’s too cold,
And your legend’s getting old.
Super hero, plastic spine,
Can’t save a soul, not even mine.
And no girl’s waiting at the tower 
You’re just a boy who loves the power.

Go be a hero… for someone else.

Superhero

She walks in like a product on display,
Perfect smile, plastic DNA.
Glitter eyes, all copy-paste,
Reads the script, forgets her face.
Every move rehearsed to death,
Perfume sugar, soul of breath.
Talks in trends, she bleeds aesthetic,
Even her laugh feels synthetic.

You think she’s flawless, I think she’s flat,
Origami heart that can’t fold back.

Paper girl, so thin, so tame,
Fold her twice, she’ll look the same.
All shine, no spark, no world within,
You can’t fake depth with porcelain skin.
Paper girl, she creases when she twirls,
Built to please the plastic world.
No batteries included, just the pose,
She’s everything… and nothing close.

Talks in filters, breathes in likes,
A thousand followers, no mind.
Hollow laughter, empty stage,
Printed beauty, zero rage.
Every word’s a borrowed line,
Every tear’s rehearsed on time.
I tried to hate her, couldn’t feel,
You can’t hate what isn’t real.

You shine in rooms that echo fake,
But baby, cardboard hearts don’t break.

Paper girl, so thin, so tame,
Fold her twice, she’ll look the same.
All shine, no spark, no world within,
You can’t fake depth with porcelain skin.
Paper girl, she creases when she twirls,
Built to please the plastic world.
No batteries included, just the pose,
She’s everything… and nothing close.

You’re a brand, not a name,
Pretty face, no flame.
All your colors fade with rain,
And I’m not jealous, I’m amazed.
How do you sleep when you’re this hollow?
Mirror made of borrowed shadows.
You look alive, but only just 
A doll in dust, a shine that rusts.

Paper skin, paper soul,
Wind could tear your pretty role.
Say “I’m fine,” you might dissolve,
No batteries included… no resolve.

Paper girl,  your edges show,
Perfect cuts from the barcode glow.
I used to wish I looked like you,
Now I thank God I’m see-through true.
Paper girl,  you’re folding slow,
Origami heart can’t grow.
No batteries included, nothing to lose —
You’re breaking news… already old news.

Paper girl…
So perfect, so planned…
So easy to burn
When the fire’s real.

Paper Girl

Crystal Rio (Larry Tasse + Botz)

4 Bot Band from Mechtropolis
Ai: guitar, vocals
Botz: drums, vocals
Code: synths, vocals
Digi: bass, fx, vocals
https://botz.band
https://botz.me

Botz Official members of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (https://www.ascap.com/)

New tracks tagged #CRYSTAL