Beard-second

Lyrics

I tap the badger brush against the chipped porcelain mug
I scrape the morning away, give the jawline a tug
A sharp steel blade to wipe the ledger clean
To pretend I am exactly the man I’ve always been
But I lay the heavy copper handle down beside the tile
And before the eye has even had a chance to reconcile
The ghost is creeping back out from the epidermal bed
I’m losing ground before the towel is off my head

Oh, the brass clock ticks, heavy and dumb
But the real time is rising like a slow-beating lung
You can freeze like a statue in the middle of the room
But you’re edging toward the finish in a microscopic bloom
The body keeps the tally while you’re staring into space
Pushing out the fraction through the bottom of your face

They got 10 men in white coats splitting atoms in the dark
Trying to find a rigid, universal part
Looking for a ruler that won't warp in the rain
While I'm feeling for the sandpaper shadow once again
It’s the distance of a thought you didn’t even get to keep
A tiny little mutiny while everybody sleeps

Oh, the brass clock ticks, heavy and dumb
But the real time is rising like a slow-beating lung
You can freeze like a statue in the middle of the room
But you’re edging toward the finish in a microscopic bloom
The body keeps the tally while you’re staring into space
Pushing out the fraction through the bottom of your face

We wanted a standard that was sterile and exact
A number written down that would finalize the trap
But rub your hand against the grain at half past 2
The fingers always know what the mirror cannot view
You can’t bribe it, you can’t pause it, you can’t bargain with the root
It’s the animal rebelling in a mathematical loop

So just sit there.
Don't breathe.
Don't move a single bone.
You're doing it right now.
Spilling out over the edge of the line they drew.
Just a shadow.