i knew that i’d get like this again. that’s why i try to keep at bay, be 100% when i’m with you and then the perfect heart’s length away. the stickler is you’ve played not one beat wrong. you never promised me anything, even sat me down and warned me just how they fall. i knew the odds were i’d never win, yet here i am. it’s a half life with you as my quarterback. a daft life. my self-worth measured in text back tempo. it’s been two days and eight minutes too slow. well there may well be others, but i still like to pretend that i’m the one you really want to grow old with. got a schedule to stick to. got a world to keep sweet. you’re so much to everyone all the time. will you ever slow down? will i ever come first? the universe contracts to sigh. hold me, darling, please. you know you’ll never be lonley, no you’ll always be loved. and maybe you never need more than that, but for the surplus that loves, what’s to become of us? does it even register on your conscience? long for one last showdown from a box in a crowd. air compressed tight to explode. i’m clenching my ticket to the only way out as you disappear in a puff of smoke.