Mr. Faux-Apology

Lyrics

[Intro]
Another one arrives.
Perfectly wrapped.
With a note attached that says nothing at all.

[Verse 1]
You have a stone in your right-hand pocket.
A small, polished river stone.
You rub it when you feel misunderstood.
And your words come out just as smooth.
Just as hard.
April seventeenth, two-thirty in the afternoon.
The smell of coffee and toner ink.
"I'm sorry if my coffee found its way onto your papers."
You rubbed the stone.

[Chorus]
It’s a beautiful box with a beautiful bow.
An apology so perfectly crafted.
I'm sorry if you felt that way.
I'm sorry that my words were heard wrong.
It’s a mirror you hold up to my face.
To show me how I broke myself.

[Verse 2]
Christmas Eve, the clink of ice in a highball glass.
The only sound in the room.
"I'm sorry that you're upset by my busy schedule, darling."
And Aris told me you said it to him, too.
"I'm sorry you misunderstood my intentions."
You said it to Eleanor.
"I'm sorry my memory isn't as perfect as yours."
You keep a list, don't you?
Of all the best ways to say nothing.

[Chorus]
It’s a beautiful box with a beautiful bow.
An apology so perfectly crafted.
I'm sorry if you felt that way.
I'm sorry that my words were heard wrong.
It’s a mirror you hold up to my face.
To show me how I broke myself.

[Bridge]
And what’s missing is the simple thing.
The plain thing.
The "I was wrong."
But that would mean a crack in the surface.
A flaw in the stone.
A ripple in the glimmer of your own reflection.
You can't have that.
Can you.

[Outro]
So you just polish the stone.
And you polish the words.
And you hand me the empty box.
Again.
And again.