The Weight of Glass

Verse 1

The sunlight hits the floor in jagged squares

I count the dust motes dancing in the heat

And every breath is like a flight of stairs

A mountain climbed to stay inside this sheet

The kettle whistles—someone brings a tray

I offer up a smile I had to borrow

To keep the ghosts of "goodbye" far away

And push the ending back until tomorrow.

Chorus

But outside the window, the sparrows are silver and gold

With no secret to keep and no trembling hand they must hold

I envy the wings that are woven of nothing but air

While I’m anchored in lead and the weight of a desperate prayer

To soar is a mercy I’ll never be graced to know

So I stand like a statue to put on a beautiful show.

Verse 2

My throat is iron, bolted shut and dry

A fortress built to keep the screams inside

Because if I let out a single jagged sigh

The walls would crumble where we try to hide.

I see them breaking in the way they look at me

A mirror of the grief they try to hide

If I crumble now, I lose the only key

To keeping all their broken parts inside.

Bridge

I am a statue carved from a mother’s unshed tears

A porcelain smile that guards this quiet cell

I’ve buried a lifetime of whispers and fears

In the marrow of bones where the shadows dwell

But if I should cry, then the glass has to break

And they would all shatter for my spirit’s sake.

Verse 3

The latch clicks home, the hallway goes still

The air in the corner starts turning to ice

I’ve climbed every peak, I’ve fought every hill

To pay for their peace with this heavy price

Now that I’m breathless, finally alone

The mask is too heavy, it falls to the floor

I’m gasping for air in a body of stone

Because I cannot be "brave" for them anymore.

Outro

(In a light, fading whisper)

So I watch the sky…

The easy tilt of a wing against the blue

No weight to carry, nothing left to do

I’ve carried enough.

I’m closing my eyes.