Tides of Quiet

I set the cup down softly

Like it might wake the

room

(ahhhh) {dry close-mic piano,

barely bowed

strings waiting underneath}

You ask if I am sleeping

I say I almost did

The ceiling holds its weather

Above our quiet bed

I keep my hands from shaking

By folding them in two

And every small admission

Leans closer into truth {piano remains dry,

brushed drums enter with restraint} The words arrive uneven

But I let them land

A little less defended

Than I had planned

(ooh) {piano doubles begin to detune,

strings enter in slow-motion swells} If I break,

let it be open If I fall,

let it be toward you

I have carried all this silence

Like a door I never walked through

Hold me where the light gets wider

Hold me while the rafters move

(ooh, ahhhh) {wide harmony stacks,

fractured piano overtones, strings swelling} Morning finds the hallway

Still colder than my name

I trace the cracked-up plaster

And call it something brave

You do not rush the answer

You leave the space intact

So I can step inside it And not keep turning back {drums

soften, piano artifacts become rhythmic}

No grand repair

No perfect line

Just your hand

Beside mine

I breathe in once

I let it show (ahhhh) {near-breakdown,

strings hover, piano splinters into high harmonics}

If I break, let it be open If I fall,

let it be toward you

I have carried all this silence Like a door I never walked

through Hold me where the light gets wider Hold me while the

rafters move

If I break, I will be open

I will be open with you

(ooh, ahhhh) {full dynamic swell,

harmony stacks bloom, strings answer the vocal} I

set the cup down softly And let the

morning stay (hummmm) {piano returns intimate but still detuned,

strings fade on suspended chord}