Somebody said your name too soft.
Somebody laughed too late.
Now there’s a chair in my head
where a liar sits and waits.

Backstage light got a sick green glow,
makeup cracked where the truth might show.
You came in calm with your coat half wet,
phone face down like a quiet threat.
I saw one smile in the corner move,
one hand drop when I crossed the room.
Nothing happened.
That’s what hurt.
Nothing got teeth when it hides in a word.
He said, “Brother, I’m only saying,”
voice like silk on a blade he’s laying.
Said he heard things, said he hates to speak,
then he fed me crumbs for a whole damn week.
Now I watch your eyes when the music stops,
watch your glass, watch your purse, watch the lock.
I used to know you by breath and skin,
now a green room monster keeps walking in.

Green room monster,
don’t look at me.
You got my love
on a short leash.
I hear one whisper,
then I can’t sleep.
Green room monster,
don’t look like me.

You left your scarf on a velvet chair,
small red thread in the hallway air.
I held it up like a guilty thing,
like cloth could talk, like a ring could sing.
He said, “Easy, don’t lose your head,”
then smiled at the bruise where the rumor spread.
Every kind word turned counterfeit,
every kiss had a question stitched in it.
I checked the mirror, but it checked back first,
jaw locked tight and my pulse gone worse.
I made a courtroom out of our bed,
put a witness stand where your pillow slept.
You said my name like I still was home,
but I heard his voice in the undertone.
That’s how poison learns the blood—
it borrows love, then calls it judgment.

Green room monster,
don’t look at me.
You got my love
on a short leash.
I hear one whisper,
then I can’t sleep.
Green room monster,
don’t look like me.

What if I’m wrong?
What if I’m right?
What if the room
just loves a knife?
What if the proof
was never proof?
What if I killed
the part that knew you?

Green room monster,
don’t look at me.
You got my love
on a short leash.
I heard one whisper,
then I couldn’t sleep.
Green room monster,
now you look like me.

The stage went quiet.
The glass stayed full.
I broke the heart
I tried to rule.