We Look Lovely on You

[Intro — single low piano notes, breath close to microphone] Hush now, little Clover, There's nothin' here to fear. That voice ya hear behind yer own Has always sounded near. You've called it intuition. You've called it luck before. But darlin', there's a difference Between a window... and a door. [Verse 1 — Chloe's voice, almost tender] We remember yer first mornin'. We remember Mama's plea. We remember little fingers Reachin' blindly out for me. [a second, lower harmony appears—still her voice] For us. We remember promises Ya never got to make. We remember what was given. We remember what we'll take. [Pre-Chorus] Don't ya feel us when yer singin'? Don't ya taste us when ya breathe? All the little bits ya thought ya lost— Love... They didn't really leave. [Chorus — beautiful, disturbing harmony] We look lovely on you. Don't we, darlin'? Don't we shine? Yer little heart keeps beatin', But there's more than one rhythm keepin' time. We look lovely in yer green eyes. We sound sweeter in yer song. You've spent yer whole life wonderin' Where the hell ya belong. So open up those pretty hands. There's nothin' left to prove. You're still our little Chloe... And we look lovely on you. [Verse 2 — acoustic guitar enters, Celtic pulse beneath it] One of us has walked the centuries, Paid her promises in pain; Watched the names and faces wither, Watched 'em bloom and die again. One remembers older darkness, Older than yer little sun; Doesn't measure time in heartbeats— Only what remains undone. [brief silence] And then there's you. Sweet lucky thing. Still thinkin' nineteen years is old. Three little pieces gathered now. Four empty places left to hold. [Pre-Chorus — voices begin overlapping] Can ya feel the edges widen? Can ya feel the whole thing turn? There's a difference between touchin' fire— And realizin'... ya don't burn. [Chorus — stronger] We look lovely on you. Ah, darlin'— Look what we've become. Yer hands can touch tomorrow now And tell tomorrow when to come. We look lovely in yer anger. We feel wonderful in yer need. And every little I could never Is becoming— Let me see. So open up those pretty hands. There's so much more to do. You're still our little Chloe... But we're lookin' out through you. [Instrumental — piano, violin, low impossible choir] [Verse 3 — Morrigan's cadence through Chloe, intimate] Sure, I taught ya all the circles. Taught ya every word and sign. Taught ya how to bend a chance, love, Just enough to make it thine. I was there when no one saw me. I was there when Daddy knew. Every lock they put around ya... Ah, my Clover— Didn't I find a way through? [voice slips lower without changing singer] [Chthon's whisper through the same voice] And I taught you nothing. I didn't need to. A sea does not instruct the tide. A star needn't teach its fire to burn. Some things... only need to realize what they are. [pause] And you are realizing. [Chloe — suddenly alone] Get outta my mouth. [silence] [whisper, still Chloe's voice] Which one of us said that? [Bridge — heartbeat, piano, increasingly dissonant strings] [Chloe] These are my hands. [Whisper] Our hands. [Chloe] This is my voice. [Whisper] Our song. [Chloe] These are my memories. [Whisper] Are ya certain, love? [Chloe] I know who I am. [Whispers, harmonizing through her] Then why does saying it Feel wrong? [music begins climbing] Yer sorrow made ya deeper. Yer dyin' made ya wide. Every time the door swung open, Somethin' crossed the other side. A little girl went into darkness. Somethin' greater wandered through. And every resurrection Made us— [Chloe, sharply] Me. [Whispers] —made you... More you. [Final Chorus — enormous, seductive rather than angry] Don't we look lovely on you? Look, darlin'— Look how bright we are. You've got midnight in yer heartbeat now And universes in yer scars. We look lovely in yer wanting. Oh, ya finally want it too. Not merely to survive this world— But decide what world comes through. Open up those nineteen-year-old hands. Let heaven watch what they can do. There's a universe that's waitin'— And it's waitin'... for you. [music abruptly collapses to piano] [Outro — Chloe alone, apparently] These hands are only nineteen. There's still polish on the nails. There's a scar across the knuckle From a bike and rusty rails. They're ordinary hands, love. Least... that's what they used to be. [long pause] I could change the whole damn universe. [barely audible second Chloe beneath her] We know. [third voice, also hers] We already did. [single piano note]