Empire Builder

this is not
an escape
but I don’t know how to hold someone without losing my grip
You’ll say I
was bound to leave
since I first stepped
across your borders
since I crawled
into your skin
thought I heard you whisper in the dark
that you knew where the light would be
thought I saw your shape against the black
thought I felt you moving beside me
we are not alone
and we are more alone
than we’ve ever been
so hurry up and lose me
hurry up and find me
again
so I’ll pass
the lumber mills
I’ll pass the coal mines
and the parks
and the dried up oil fields
I’ll pass a thousand lonely pines
that bend their backs against the sun
but I’ll mistake the station birds
for the sound of my phone ringing
thought I heard you whisper in the dark
that you knew where the light would be
don’t wait for me to walk a straight line
you can only hold your breath so long
we are not alone
and we are more alone
than we’ve ever been
so hurry up and lose me
hurry up and find me
again
I am no less found to you
than when I crossed into your silence
when I held your solitade
but you never liked it
when I’d play dead
and you wondered why my lovesongs are always the grieving kind
why I wonder all to search for my reflections in the crowd
oh, forget I said love
and also, don’t forget I said love
we are not alone
and we are more alone
than we’ve ever been
so hurry up and lose me
hurry up and find me
again