I iron out the wrinkles in a version of my face A practiced kind of posture keeping panic in its place The counter stays immaculate, the calendar is bare Every ounce of trembling in my chest, is buried there I'm folding up the fear until it's small enough to hide Masking any evidence of falling deep inside The neighbours wave, I wave right back, rehearsed and running clean Nobody ever notices the gap between the seams (Steady) (Ready) Holding it together, just one more day (Don't break) (Don't you break) Fastened tight but fraying, I'm keeping up appearances Bracing for the breaking, still keeping up appearances Nobody's gonna witness what I'm bearing, what I'm carrying So I'll keep on... Keeping up appearances (Hold the line) (Hold it steady) Smiling wide enough that no one asks if I'm already gone I've got a script memorized for every "how are you" A dozen different answers so they always ring true I count the ceiling tiles at night and measure out my breath Convincing my reflection that there's still something left I'm laughing on a cue I set myself a while ago Performing all the closeness that I'm desperate not to show The praise for how I'm handling it just tightens the thread Nobody thinks to ask me what is living in my head Fastened tight but fraying, I'm keeping up appearances Bracing for the breaking, still keeping up appearances Nobody's gonna witness what I'm bearing, what I'm carrying So I'll keep on... Keeping up appearances (Hold the line) (Hold it steady) Smiling wide enough that no one asks if I'm already gone You want the tidy ending, not the mess or attitude You clap for my resilience like I'm winning some award Then flinch the moment honesty gets too loud to ignore (Go on, look away) (Go on, don't stay) You needed me to hold it so that you could look away too So I did. I did. I did it all for you. Fastened tight but fraying, I'm keeping up appearances Bracing for the breaking, still keeping up appearances Nobody's gonna witness what I'm bearing, what I'm carrying So I'll keep on... Keeping up appearances (Hold the line) (Hold it steady) Smiling wide enough that no one asks if I'm already gone Keeping up... Keeping up... Keeping up appearances
