Glass Smiles

Used to keep a circle, now I keep a radius Learned the hard way who was real and who was playing us Smiled in my face while they plotted in the back Prayed on my downfall then showed up when I came back Had brothers in the trenches, swore they'd ride or die Same brothers went quiet when the water wasn't high Funny how the table gets crowded when you're eating Funny how the phones go silent when you're bleeding I don't do loyalty speeches — I watch patterns instead Every man reveals himself, just give him time ahead Said they wanted the best for me — nah, they wanted a seat At a table they thought I'd never build — surprise, receipts All that fake love I don't need it All them fake smiles I can read it Thought you was solid — you was season Now I move different for a reason All that fake love — keep it All them fake prayers — delete it You was never in my corner Now you act like you always been the closest I gave out trust like it was infinite Then watched it get flipped like it was counterfeit Took the loyalty I built and used it as a ladder Left me at the bottom — thought it didn't matter But it did — and I sat with that Replayed every red flag I talked myself out of, fact Every gut feeling I ignored to keep the peace Every time I chose them over my own release Now I keep the energy tight, the circle tighter No more carrying dead weight just to seem like a rider The ones who clapped the loudest when I fell — I see you The ones who stayed silent when I needed — I freed you All that fake love I don't need it All them fake smiles I can read it Thought you was solid — you was season Now I move different for a reason All that fake love — keep it All them fake prayers — delete it You was never in my corner Now you act like you always been the closest Real ones don't announce it — they just stay Fake ones make the most noise then drift away I stopped explaining myself to people who already decided Stopped proving loyalty to people who never provided You showed me who you were — I just wasn't ready to look Now I read everyone like the first page of a book And the chapter with your name in it Closed itself Now I'm moving with intention, every room I enter Every handshake got a question mark, every smile gets a filter Not paranoid — just educated by experience I paid full tuition — now I got the clearance The ones who left — I don't chase, don't call The ones who switched — I don't explain it at all Just let the distance do what conversations can't And let my silence say everything they want Because the version of me they betrayed Built the version of me they can't touch today So yeah — thank you for the lesson, cost was steep But what I learned from losing you I get to keep All that fake love I don't need it All them fake smiles I can read it Thought you was solid — you was season Now I move different for a reason All that fake love — keep it All them fake prayers — delete it You was never in my corner Now you act like you always been the closest Glass smiles Hollow loyalty I see through all of it now Glass smiles You were never solid And I'm good with that I'm good