Two of Cups

Lyrics

[Intro]

[Verse 1]
You slide your glass across three overlapping rings of condensation on the oak.
I push mine back.
There is no high ground here, no one to fold, no one to coax.
Just a level track.
We step toward the center of the room,
Under the plaster lion with the painted wings above the door.
Neither of us is hiding anymore.

[Chorus]
Take this from me, and I will take yours.
Water for water, no keeping the scores.
Look at the space right between you and me,
Two coils of smoke twisting up to agree.
Like serpents winding up a quiet rod,
Nobody's winning, and nobody's flawed.
Just two cups, held steady.
Tell me when you're ready.

[Verse 2]
I brought my old defenses, you brought your careful little lies.
We left them by the coats.
The brain just wants a mirror it can finally recognize.
I hear the same catch in our throats.
There's a strange kind of medicine in finding out you're matched.
A window pushed open, a heavy gate unlatched.
Under the plaster lion with the painted wings above the door.
Neither of us is running anymore.

[Chorus]
Take this from me, and I will take yours.
Water for water, no keeping the scores.
Look at the space right between you and me,
Two coils of smoke twisting up to agree.
Like serpents winding up a quiet rod,
Nobody's winning, and nobody's flawed.
Just two cups, held steady.
Tell me when you're ready.

[Bridge]
But equal weight means either one of us could drop the glass.
If I pull away, the whole thing shatters on the brass.
We have to step exactly in the same slow time.
Your hand reaching out at the very same angle as mine.
It's terrifying, isn't it? Being this seen.
Without a single shadow left to stand between.

[Outro]
The lion looks down from the archway.
The two snakes keep curling tight.
I trade you my water.
You trade me the night.
Keep your hand steady.
Right here.
Right here.