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Picture Book
I looked up to the sky and fell
And bubbles were all I could breathe
All these mundane Mondays
Forsaken for a venture to the beach
A silent wind embraced me
Mute and deafened and enslaved to the low tide
I slowed and took a moment
To look up at the cotton candy sky
And I'll tell you what I saw in the ripples that day, oh:
Not a city street dressed in white
Shaking hands with a cryobite thermometer
No, not a brand new house with a brand new heart
Lover's quarrel and a dog in the yard, like I promised her
No, none of those
Yeah, the nation's blinding
Flags are cupped in winter and in spring
And I look back on what we saw this year
Something I was sure none of us were expecting
And now the ocean's conquered
Both by pirates and by ancient dusty men
And suddenly the world is not my oyster
But a handshake dividend
But I'll tell you what I saw in the ripples that day, oh:
Not a college dorm, holding hands,
The shuffling of the campus sands under me
No, not the brightest cure to the darkest disease
Nothing like that, nothing to please the masses
No, none of those
I'm sitting at the last dock
There's a grey marble ship in front of me
So many damn times I've told myself I should be ready
But all those years ago
When I sat down on the plane and I felt scared
What if it's repeating?
What if I will never be repaired?
I took the plunge, I killed the beast
So why am I still a darkened hound?
I brawl with such ferocity
And ruminate until I find a crown
But still
Still I'm waiting
For someone
To call my name and
Take me to some perfect land
But I'll tell you what I saw in the ripples that day, oh:
I simply saw the clouds above me
I got home and I breathed the air
And looked up at the star-sprayed night
Nothing was quite perfect
It wasn't all gonna be alright
But on the sands and on the shores
I knew that I would make it through the day
And that was all I needed
To keep the bad thoughts at bay
Music and lyrics by Sam Hurwitz