[Verse 1]
You are crayons on the drywall
Tiny shoes beside the door
Plastic dinosaurs on my pillow
Like they’re guarding what I’m here for
But the letters in the hallway
All the forms I fail to read
Turn our life into a courtroom
Where love has to take the stand for me
[Chorus]
You’re my paper boat in a flood
Just a name on a page to them
But you’re mud on your knees
And jam on your face
You’re the reason I’m learning to bend
Not break
I’m scared of the hands that could pull you away
But I’ll wrap every day around you
I can’t promise the law
I can promise my arms
And I won’t let this river drown you
[Verse 2]
You’re asleep in the backseat
Streetlights flick across your skin
I rehearse my careful answers
To a stranger with a practiced grin
They ask
“Can you really keep him?”
Like they’re weighing out a stone
They don’t see the midnight fevers
Or how he calls this house his home
[Chorus]
You’re my paper boat in a flood
Just a file in a stack to them
But you’re songs off-key
And socks that don’t match
You’re the reason I’m learning to fight
Then rest
I’m scared of the doors that might close in our face
But I’ll stand in the frame around you
I can’t promise their rules
I can promise this room
And I won’t let this river drown you
[Bridge]
If they say I’m not enough
Will you still know you are loved?
If they tear us into pieces
Can they touch what’s in your blood?
I trace tomorrow in crayons
On the fridge right where you reach
If the world forgets our story
You will hear it all from me (from me)
[Chorus]
You’re my paper boat in a flood
Just a case on a screen to them
But you’re arms round my neck
And “one more story”
You’re the miracle they’ll never understand
I’m scared of the waves I can’t hold in my hands
But I’ll walk every storm beside you
I can’t promise the sky
I can promise this light
And I won’t let this river drown you
[Outro]
Tiny shoes by the doorway
Crayons rolling on the floor
Whatever waits in the morning
You and me
We walk toward it
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