And there it was, it was whole
A smoke stack stood sticky beneath the window
Like the twist of rope
With me still sat half-clothed
Bare skin as my winter coat
My monochrome cheeks pulled tight and together like bed sheets
Trying to meet just out of their reach
Exposing my teeth, parting them slowly
And keeping me open
And keeping me:
Nonviolent, still a sucker for quiet
Not so much purple under my eyelids
But the root still grows
My rivers run green with the spring glow
There's medicinal light in this soft cold
A new ring to it
I'd never thought that I'd needed a sling
But I'd been having a long lean at the base of this tree
The only place that it seemed to be raining
It shouldn't be so hard
It shouldn't be so noisy
I couldn't believe I'd unfolded this slowly
I still believe there's parts of me left unopen
So bring those teeth in
Bite down on these soft limbs
And I'm not scared of anything
I'm not scared of my friends, just disappointing them
So I blame my stupid layers,
Leatherbound body but I'm warming in the centre
I think I've seen heaven, I think I've taken my medicine
So I collected the whole thing
Not under my window, now under my ceiling
So I collected the whole thing
Not under my window, now under my ceiling