Please help me welcome @Vasi Smith !!!!

Please help me welcome @Ashley Thoroughman

Oh my heart, why is there this loneliness, a void that swallows the light, cold and unwelcoming, where laughter becomes a distant echo, and feelings linger like shadows, fading into the corners of my mind. I am quiet, yet storms rage inside me, thoughts whirling like a tornado, twisting, turning, crashing against walls built of silence, each scream unheard, a desperate whisper lost in the chaos. Oh my heart, what is this heavy feeling, a stone lodged deep within, anchoring me to the depths of despair, each breath a labor, each sigh a struggle, wishing for weightlessness, for the freedom of flight. I search for solace in the spaces between the beats of my weary heart, but find only echoes, and the haunting reminder of what could have been— connection that slips through my fingers, like sand, like hope. Yet still, I yearn for the dawn, for light to pierce this dense fog, a hand to reach out, to lift the stone, to quiet the tempest, to hear the unspoken, to embrace the lonely heart, and let it finally breathe.

It’s a song I just finished. (Maybe) if you see something I missed point it out. Here it is Before the Fall August hanging on forever Golden fields beneath the sun We were young and reckless dreamers Certain we were the lucky ones Windows down on backroads Chasing nowhere after dark The whole world fit between us And the beating of our hearts Leaves were still a distant thought Green was all the trees could see We had no idea how fast Seasons changed for you and me Before the fall Before the hurt Before the lessons that we learned Before the cracks ran through it all Before the silence filled these walls There was a boy There was a girl There was a dream bigger than the world And if I close my eyes at all I can still see us Before the fall September waiting on the horizon Like a storm we couldn’t name We were busy making memories Never counting what might change Now those roads feel smaller somehow Though they stretch for miles and miles Funny how a single season Can outlive a thousand why’s Back when hope was second nature And faith came easily Back before the colors faded From our little piece of green Before the fall Before the hurt Before the lessons that we learned Before the cracks ran through it all Before the silence built my walls There was a boy There was a girl There was a dream bigger than the world And if I close my eyes at all I can still see us Before the fall The leaves turned gold then rust then amber Just like everything must do But I’d give anything to stand once more In that summer next to you Before the fall Before goodbye Before we watched forever die There was a fire in our hearts Bright enough to light the dark And somewhere beyond these years Beyond the tears and all the loss A part of me still lives Before the fall Written by Jason A Hearrell 05/30/2026