Chlorine Stained

while shifting the theme from the "escape" of the water to the "staining" effect of the chemicals and the lingering shadows as the sun goes down.

Sun down

Purple bruise on the sky

Gate lock clicks

Tell the summer goodbye

Skin feels tight

Salt crust on my brow

The peace I found

Where did it go now?

Chlorine sting

Still burns in my eyes

Tracing the red

Where the old ghost lies

Towels get heavy

Dripping on the tile

Walking back slow

To the ghost of my smile

I’m dry now

But the cold starts to creep

The dark in my chest

Is waking from sleep

I’m stained by the dreams in a darkening sky

The blue fades out and the shadows rise high

Summertime scars start to ache in the breeze

I’m losing the light, falling back to my knees (Uh!)

Street lamps flicker

Like a heart skip-beat

Hum of the tires

On the cooling street

Goggles in the bag

Like a hollowed-out soul

Trying to stay level

When I’m losing control

Headlight glare

Cuts sharp through the gloom

Reminding my mind

Of the empty room

Dark voice whispers

“Did you think it would stay?”

“Did you think that the blue”

“Could wash it all away?”

I clench my fists

With the scent on my palms

Fighting for the silence

Fighting for the calm (hey!)

I’m stained by the dreams in a darkening sky

The blue fades out and the shadows rise high

Summertime scars start to ache in the breeze

I’m losing the light, falling back to my knees (Uh!)

Quiet and cold in the parking lot gleam

The world’s coming back, tearing holes in the dream

Chemical scent, still a shadow in me

The water is gone, but I’m still at sea.