she tells herself
on mornings when there's nothing else
that the night did not take us and
at least the color of this wreckage is new
 
she tells you
among other things you already know
that she will see you in the morning
and then a piece of her lets go
 
and from the other side of the door
you wonder how it changes you to grow

the king of this loneliness
has a castle made of sky
invisible, invincible
 
we tell ourselves
a hundred kinds of love
in the hopes that one will hold us until we're
strong enough to know

he had vaguer plans before this
that are so specific now
we dream when we are too tired
for the things we owe the world
 
at school he smiles at the children
the other children run to
and is determined to remember
what they never let him do

the king of this loneliness
has a castle made of sky
invisible, invincible
 
we tell ourselves
a hundred dreams of love
in the hopes that one will carry us when we're
bold enough to fly

you hold their hands
for their sake more than yours
it hurts to watch them fear to grow
so you only watch their shadows
 
you hold your breath half the time
because air is hard to count on
and the way it makes them shiver
proves it's something you should fear
 
you tell yourself
among other things you just hope
that's this is only how it happens
until you're old enough to go

the king of this loneliness
has a castle made of sky
incurable, divisible
 
we tell ourselves
a hundred morals of love
in the hopes that one will demonstrate how we're
strong enough to know
 
the king of this uncertainty
had a castle he was safer in
but he moved across the street from you
because it's boring in the sky

 
 
[Scripted unexpectedly on the way to work one morning, produced in GarageBand in aerial darkness, sung in Stockholm on no sleep.]