Tartle

Lyrics

[Intro]
The pub door opens. A gust of Edinburgh cold.
You turn, and he’s with you. And I smile, a story ready to unfold.

[Verse 1]
A hand extends. Mine. Palm warm, ready.
“Anna,” I say, “this is…”
And the world goes unsteady.
The name was just there. On the tip of my tongue, a familiar coat.
Now there’s just the hook, empty. A hollow in my throat.
My mind is a white wall. My cheeks are on fire.
The scent of peat and spilled ale, a funeral pyre for a single, simple word.

[Chorus]
This is the stumble. The trip on a flat floor.
This is Tartle.
The hesitation before the door you can’t unlock anymore.
A name, a sound, a piece of a person, gone.
And the silence stretches on.

[Verse 2]
He smiles, a polite, expectant curve of the lips.
He has no idea he’s become a ghost, a ship that’s slipped its moorings in my head.
And you, Anna, you wait. A slight tilt of your head.
Watching the gears in my eyes grind to a halt.
I’m shuffling through a thousand index cards, all blank.
Looking for the one labeled ‘Jim’ or ‘David’ or ‘Frank’.

[Chorus]
This is the stumble. The trip on a flat floor.
This is Tartle.
The hesitation before the door you can’t unlock anymore.
A name, a sound, a piece of a person, gone.
And the silence, it just stretches on.

[Bridge]
How can a thing so solid just dissolve?
A face I’ve known for years. A laugh I can recall.
But the key, the word that holds him together, has vanished.
And in this tiny, stupid moment, I am banished
From the easy world of names and knowing.

[Outro]
My hand drops. A small, defeated gesture.
I laugh. It sounds like tearing paper.
“This is… my wonderful friend.”
He nods, you smile, the moment ends.
But his name is still out there in the cold.