[Verse 1] Morning enters without asking, Grey and ordinary through the blinds. Mother says his name at breakfast Like she’s testing whether it survives. Noah asks her for the butter. She begins to cry and passes it. Nothing shines. No angels answer. The world simply makes a place for him. [Pre-Chorus] Coming home does not undo it. Being found won’t pay the cost. Some things return from darkness Still carrying what was lost. [Chorus] This time, goodbye. No door left open. No star to follow Through another night. You don’t get forever Just because you never die. This time I choose the ending. This time, goodbye. [Verse 2] Outside, the apple tree is taller Than it ever should have grown. Black sand gathers on the windowsill Though we live miles from the coast. Slowly, grains arrange in letters: THIS IS NOT GOODBYE. I wipe them with my naked hand And watch them scatter in the light. [Pre-Chorus] Memory is not permission. Grief is not an open door. I can know that you existed Without belonging to you anymore. [Chorus] This time, goodbye. No door left open. No star to follow Through another night. You don’t get forever Just because you never die. This time I choose the ending. This time, goodbye. [Bridge] One man stays beneath the city Where the clocks no longer move. He gave us back the road to morning. I won’t make his loss untrue. Some names we carry home. Some names we leave in stone. Love is not returning To the place that broke your bones. I can remember. I can grieve. I can close the door And leave. [Final Chorus] This time, goodbye. The window’s fastened. The wall remembers, But the room is mine. You don’t get forever. You don’t get another life. I won’t become your ending. You have reached the end of mine. This time, goodbye. No promise hidden. No final thread For you to find. I remember everything. And still— goodbye. [Outro – distant whisper] This is not goodbye. [Female voice] Yes. This time, it is.
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