I Leave the Board

[Verse 1] I kept your old postcard beside the board, Two queens crossed out, one name ignored. We played the ending before the start, A rook on the edge of my paper heart. I count the turns I can’t reclaim, The almost-kisses without a name. [Pre-Chorus] Every square says what it was; Not every loss needs a because. [Chorus] I let the pieces fall where they may, No backward move can make you stay. The game is done; I lift my eyes, Some roads are closed, and that’s all right. I leave the board, I choose my way— The past can keep its yesterday. [Verse 2] There was the one I never called, A quiet checkmate in a crowded hall. There was the love that ran its course, A knight that turned, a changing force. I won’t make ghosts defend their place; I fold the board and give it space. [Bridge] No pawn can cross the years again, No crown can tell me where I’ve been. I bless the turns, the ones I missed; Then open both hands from the fist. [Final Chorus] I let the pieces fall where they may, No backward move can make you stay. The game is done; I lift my eyes, Some roads are closed, and that’s all right. I leave the board, I choose my way— The past can keep its yesterday. [Outro] I leave the board. I choose my way.