INTRO You love the bloom / but you hate the decay... So you pull at my petals / to throw them away. (A sharp scissor-snip sound) VERSE 1 (A) You stepped on the grass, didn't care where you walked I listened so close to the way that you talked You said I was rare, something special to keep Then you cut at my roots while I was asleep You like the fragrance, but you hate the dirt You love the beauty, but you run from the hurt PRE CHORD You flooded my soil / said you'd save me from the drought. (Pause) But I'm gasping for air / while you're washing me... out. Too much water / kills the flower. (Long pause-let the bass ring out in dead silence) I trusted you. but I'm just a flower. (A sharp, sudden intake of breath right on the grid) CHORUS B Pick me apart, petal by petal To see if I'm heavy or light as a feather You water the garden just to watch it drown I'm just a flower you picked for your crown Now look at me now, look at me now... Withering down VERSE 2 (A) Blood on the rose, but it's entirely mine You're crossing the fence, erasing the line I grew in the dark, I was doing just fine 'Til you stepped on my shadow and stole all my time Now I'm sitting on display, dying in a vase Just a pretty little thing to fill up your space PRE CORD You flooded my soil / said you'd save me from the drought. (Pause) But I'm gasping for air / while you're washing me... out. (Heavy sub-bass note hits) Too much water / kills the flower. (Long pause) I trusted you... but I'm just a flower. (Sharp intake of breath) CHORUS B Pick me apart, petal by petal To see if I'm heavy or light as a feather You water the garden just to watch it drown I'm just a flower you picked for your crown Now look at me now, look at me now... Withering down BRIDGE Don't touch the thorns if you're afraid to bleed You took what you wanted, but not what I need I'm not your garden, I'm not your estate You left me to dry at the edge of the gate You love me... You love me not... (A sudden, brief silence) Too late. OUTRO You thought I was fragile, sweet Oleander Sipping the tea that I brewed in the parlor You wore my colors, you swallowed the juice Now the roots are tightening into a noose I'm just a flower, pretty and wild But look at you coughing, look at you smile You wanted a taste of what I could be... (Music stops dead, leaving only the faint echo of a room) Now the poison is running through you. Not me. (Poison.)
