Tarot · Track 40 · middle
Five of Cups
RWS: a figure in a long black cloak with head down, looking at three cups spilled at his feet, two still standing upright behind him, a bridge and a castle across the river. Keywords: grief, the loss you keep staring at, what is still behind you, and the bridge that was there the whole time.
No audio yet — generation pending.
Lyrics
[Intro] [Verse 1] The radiator's hissing, but the floorboards are freezing. I’m wrapped in this heavy black coat for no reason. My elbow caught the edge of the aluminum tray. Three glasses went over. I'm letting them fade. It’s 4:18, and the silence is deep. I’m watching the cherry syrup bleed toward my feet. [Chorus] And I know how to stare at a thing that I spilled. I know how to study a room I un-built. If I just keep my head down, I don't have to see The two perfect glasses still waiting for me. If I turn my neck, I have to own what I kept. I have to admit that the house hasn't completely wept. So I pull the dark wool around me like a hood. And I mourn the sticky tile like a broken woman should. [Verse 2] Right behind my spine, on the edge of the desk, Two of them are standing in the middle of the wreck. Undisturbed, untouched, full of water and ice, Waiting for my hand to come and pay the asking price. But the brain builds a home in the shape of a loss, Connecting the droplets to a permanent cost. [Chorus] 'Cause I know how to stare at a thing that I spilled. I know how to study a room I un-built. If I just keep my head down, I don't have to see The two perfect glasses still waiting for me. If I turn my neck, I have to own what I kept. I have to admit that the house hasn't completely wept. So I pull the dark wool around me like a hood, And I mourn the sticky tile like a broken woman should. [Bridge] Out the frosted glass, past the runoff in the creek, There’s a concrete footbridge looking heavy and steep. It leads to the high-rise with its turrets in the rain. I could walk across the water, I could wash away the stain. [Outro] Three on the linoleum. Two on the shelf. The bridge was there the whole time to rescue myself. But I’m watching the puddle till the puddle turns to stone. Two glasses behind me. I’ll drink them at home. When I’m ready.