Cherry-Cold

Detuned piano through the wall Tick-tick, cherry-small Red light on the white tile glow Say my name and cherry-cold Detuned piano in my chest One struck key, no rest Mouth like sugar, hand like frost Touch me once and count the cost You showed up half-lit by the open store Ice in a plastic cup, keys at the door Street made mirrors out of oil and rain Every step you took put splinters in my name The upright inside kept missing the key Not wrong enough to break, just wrong enough for me I watched your shadow cross the freezer glow Like even all that white knew not to let you go No movie line No grand reveal Just that look that says don't make this heal Little struck note Under my ribs Little red want Under your lips Everything sweet Turns when it hits I heard it first In the piano slip Cherry-cold Right at the nerve Sweet for a second Then blood on the curve Cherry-cold Teeth in the note You make a clean thing Catch in my throat Cherry-cold Red in the white Hit me so pretty I wore the mark all night Cherry-cold Don't let it warm I like my heart best Still lit by the harm Ah-ah Cherry-cold Ah-ah Cherry-cold Ah-ah Little cracked key Little red ghost Play me wrong Leave it in the note Back room buzzing with the freezer light A thin white receipt doing circles on tile You laughed through the straw like you knew I'd stay Like bad little choices made soft for a while I said your name and it clicked too clean Like a deadbolt sliding somewhere under my skin Then four hard notes from the far back room Made all that bright white look guilty and thin You moved closer Not all the way Like trouble pauses To freshen the blade Your hand near mine No grand romance Just that half-second That murders chance Little glass shake In your hand Little skipped beat I couldn't stand Everything sweet Cuts when it lands Nothing this small Should leave this brand Cherry-cold Right at the nerve Sweet for a second Then blood on the curve Cherry-cold Teeth in the note You make a clean thing Catch in my throat Cherry-cold Red in the white Hit me so pretty I wore the mark all night Cherry-cold Don't let it warm I like my heart best Still lit by the harm Hit the same key Till it goes strange Same little hammer Changing the shape Same little sweetness Bending to blade I didn't fall fast I fell in place You touched my wrist Nothing dramatic Still felt the room Turn automatic Red on the sign Blue in the glass I knew right then I wouldn't backtrack Cherry-cold Right at the nerve Sweet for a second Then blood on the curve Cherry-cold Teeth in the note You make a clean thing Catch in my throat Cherry-cold Red in the white Hit me so pretty Now I want the mark for life Cherry-cold Don't let it warm I like my heart best Still bright from the knife Detuned piano through the wall Tick-tick, cherry-small Red light on the white tile glow Say my name and cherry-cold Detuned piano in my chest One struck key, no rest Mouth like sugar, hand like frost Touch me once and count the cost