Odes to Joy

Tarot · Track 47 · middle

Knight of Cups

RWS: a knight in a winged helm riding a white horse at a walk, a cup held out before him, a river and low cliffs ahead. Keywords: the romantic, the offer made beautifully, a dreamer on the move, charm that may never actually arrive.

No audio yet — generation pending.

Lyrics

[Intro]
It’s a very slow crossing.

[Verse 1]
I polished the silver, I dusted the wings
That sit on the sides of my helmet and gleam
When the wind off the river picks up in the cold
I've got something to give you, a story unfolding
My white horse is stepping as light as a ghost
It's seventeen paces across at the most
To cover the gravel from my side to yours
I am practicing lines as I aim for the porch

[Chorus]
Look at this cup, look at the gleam
I'm holding it out like a girl in a dream
It isn't spilling, the surface is glass
I am letting the afternoon beautifully pass
I’m bringing you everything, perfectly planned—
I just haven't made it as far as your hand

[Verse 2]
The cliffs are so low here, the water’s not deep
But I’m crossing the ford like I'm walking in sleep
There's a drop on the rim, a single wet bead
Reflecting the trees and the rustle of weed
My brain wants a pattern, a sign in the stream
To tell me I’m more than a part of a scene
But it's just you up there, with a hand on the rail
Watching me carefully, moving like snails

[Chorus]
Look at this cup, look at the gleam
I'm holding it out like a girl in a dream
It isn't spilling, the surface is glass
I am letting the afternoon beautifully pass
I’m bringing you everything, perfectly planned—
I just haven't made it as far as your hand

[Bridge]
If I speed to a trot, I might stumble and spill
If I cross the last yard, then the quiet is killed
The charm of the offer is all in the pause
The intake of breath just before the applause

I’m so good at the reaching
I’m so bad at the rest

[Chorus]
But look at this cup, look at the gleam
I'm holding it out like a girl in a dream
It isn't spilling, the surface is glass
I am letting the afternoon beautifully pass
I’m bringing you everything, perfectly planned—
I just haven't made it as far as your hand

[Outro]
At a walk.
At a crawl.
The river is shallow, the cliffs are so small.
I am keeping it steady.
I am almost ready.

Just look at the cup.
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