One more color… One more try… I can fix it. Can’t I? You said, “You always overthink” So I painted every warning white Covered every shade of anger Till the picture looked alright I softened every honest question Turned my red reactions blue If staying meant repainting me I thought that’s what I had to do Maybe I remembered wrong Maybe red was blue all along You held the brush, I closed my eyes And let you paint me your version of right If the picture falls apart I’ll take the blame, I’ll make a start Just give me one more night I swear I’ll get the colors right Give me one more version One more color, one more try I can repaint every fracture If you’ll only stay tonight I’ll repair the whole damn picture You don’t have to do a thing Give me one more version— You won’t even notice me One more version One more me Paint it perfect Wait and see I edited every conversation Cut the parts that proved me right Turned your silence into patience Turned your absence into time You changed the ending of your story Swore you told me that before Then I saw that shade of purple Trailing underneath our door It wasn’t mine, but you insisted “It’s the lighting—nothing more.” So I mixed it with my colors Like I hadn’t seen it before Maybe I remembered wrong Maybe purple was mine all along You held the brush, I closed my eyes And watched you paint another lie If the picture falls apart I’ll hide the evidence and start Just give me one more night I swear I’ll get the colors right Give me one more version One more color, one more try I can repaint every fracture If you’ll only stay tonight I’ll repair the whole damn picture I’ll erase what shouldn’t be Give me one more version— One that never disagrees Paint it white. Cover the red. Change what you saw. Change what you said. If I become easier If I never question you If I forget what happened Could you love me like you used to? I stepped back from the canvas Just to see what we became There you were in perfect detail There was purple in the frame Every trace of me was covered Every outline painted through I made room for every version— Except the one I knew was true I fixed everything. So where am I? No more “one more version” No more color, no more tries I can’t repaint every fracture While you manufacture lies I repaired the whole damn picture Till there wasn’t any me You got your perfect version— She just looks nothing like me Nothing like me Nothing like me Me-me-me-me— You said I always overthink So I stopped trusting what I’d seen Now the portrait looks complete… But which one is me?
