"Never The Same Again" by Velvet Skies

Samuel E Burns’ “Never The Same Again”, performed by Velvet Skies, is a hauntingly lyrical poem that pulses with raw emotion and understated power. It reads like a citywide elegy—an intimate mosaic of lives intersecting at the edge of something irreversible. Burns doesn't just write verses; he excavates truths buried beneath silence, disillusionment, and endurance.

The structure of the poem is loose but intentional, almost cinematic. Each stanza functions like a snapshot, capturing brief, poignant moments in the lives of everyday people—mothers, students, workers, wanderers. These characters are unnamed, yet vividly drawn through sensory detail and emotional resonance. The poem’s strength lies in its quiet universality. The reader doesn’t need to know the characters’ backstories to feel the weight they carry.

Burns’ imagery is evocative and often chilling: “The air is thick with forgotten prayers”, “A young man walks in shoes too big”, “The hands that built this city / Now tremble”. These lines conjure a world on the brink—haunted by the past, uncertain of the future. There’s a tension throughout, a kind of held breath, culminating in the devastating final stanza. The repetition of “Never the same again” lands like a drumbeat of inevitability.

Musically, if Velvet Skies’ performance matches the poem’s mood—subtle, atmospheric, and emotionally rich—then the pairing is likely profound. One can imagine minimalist instrumentation, perhaps ambient textures or a slow-burning melody that lets the words take center stage.

This piece isn't just about change—it’s about the cost of survival. It speaks to generational fatigue, societal fracture, and the fragility of hope, yet it also honors resilience. Burns gives voice to the overlooked and the silenced, and in doing so, invites reflection on how we carry our histories forward.