XII. The Deep End of the Echo

[Verse 1] Chain-link gate Hanging by a single twist of wire Sign says “Keep Out” Shot through Rust around the fire We slip in sideways Breath held Flashlights low Concrete yawning Like it’s waiting for the show Painted tiles Peeling names from ‘95 Lifeguard chair crooked Like it drank and came alive Graffiti mermaids Eyes scratched white and wide A plastic whistle Half-buried on its side [Chorus] Down in the deep end of the echo Every sound comes back too slow Like somebody else Is walking in my shadow Footsteps on the drained-out blue But there’s three when there’s only you Something in the hollow air Leans close And listens too [Verse 2] Diving board Dusted with a skin of glassy rain One jump And it squeals like a stuck metal vein You laugh It fractures Into twenty distant rooms Each echo arguing Over who arrived too soon Handprints ghosted In a line along the rail Chlorine ghosts Still burning in the nails Filter grate yawns Like a mouth too tired to shout Something breathing Underneath that rusted spout [Chorus] Down in the deep end of the echo Every sound comes back too slow Like somebody else Is walking in my shadow Footsteps on the drained-out blue But there’s three when there’s only you Something in the hollow air Leans close And listens too [Bridge] [whispered Almost dry Then swelling into heavy reverb] You drop a coin It never hits Just spins in air And never quits You say my name The pool says it back wrong Stretches the vowels Till they’re too long (too long) A locker slams No wind No hand The ladders hum Like distant marching bands Your light goes out But mine stays on And I see wet footprints Walking toward the long gone [Chorus] Down in the deep end of the echo Every sound comes back too slow Like somebody else Is walking in my shadow Footsteps on the drained-out blue But there’s three when there’s only you Hold your breath Don’t break the glass Something’s swimming in the past In the deep end of the echo It already knows you [Outro] [everything drops Just voice and faint room tone] Chain-link gate Creaks once Then seals the dark Waterless waves Still licking at the mark We walk away But in that chalk-dry room Our quiet stays behind And paces in the gloom