I arrived between falling colors Unsteady, but not erased Unnoticed by the present, carried by something ahead Once, I saw a pale bloom folding into itself A beginning sinking before it could speak I walked through what will be, and what already ended And found something gentle inside what should have been feared Where did the warmth withdraw? Why does joy feel second-hand now? I reach for something that won’t remain It slips before I understand Can sensation return at all? Or would I hesitate… if it did? I stand at the edge of something known But it no longer feels like mine Why do I matter only when I fade? Reaching backward just to hold what was small Keep me somewhere long enough to stay Let me be that child once again I have never been this distant from myself Like swallowing something that shortens the horizon There’s a trace in this design we call human To follow it is to step slightly aside Why do I matter only when I fade? Reaching backward just to hold what was small Keep me somewhere long enough to stay Let me be that child once again (ah-ah-ah) Hold it, don’t let it disappear (ah-ah-ah) Even if it was never fully here Why do I matter only when I fade? Reaching further, but it slips away Keep me somewhere I can almost stay Before it breaks… before it changes Hold me longer than I should remain Even if it’s only half the same Let it fracture, let it rearrange I’ll still call it mine anyway Stay… stay… don’t erase Stay… stay… don’t replace (ah-ah-ah) I was almost there (ah-ah-ah) I was almost Stay… Why do I matter only when I fade? (only when I fade) Keep me somewhere I can almost stay Where did the warmth withdraw? Why does loving this way feel forbidden? Now displaced, misaligned with everything moving Almost released from ache, from the friction of being What I leave behind isn’t loud It settles quietly, like something final Without the early softness, meaning turns rigid Belief bends easily And what we call depth… might only be distance given a softer word Still if there’s anything left of me in you keep it unbroken
