[INTRO — distant voices approaching slowly, soft procession rhythm] Come where the gladiolus lean Tall and red and hardly seen Hands in petals Eyes half-closed Nobody asks Where anybody goes [soft echo voices] "where anybody goes…" --- [VERSE 1 — warm, hypnotic, ceremonial sway] Sun caught gold In everybody’s hair Dust in the throat Perfume in the air The garden gate Was open wide Something moved Just out of sight Red against the shoulder blades Soft against the wrist Every flower turned a little When our shadows kissed Somebody laughing Deep between the stems Like they’d seen us Here before again --- [HOOK — memorable, strange, almost playful in cadence] Tie the ribbon Thread the stem Turn once slowly Turn again Red flower Tall flower Drink the daylight from my skin Red flower Bright flower Tell me where the bloom begins --- [VERSE 2 — attraction deepening, emotionally stranger] She stood quiet Inside the bloom Like daylight Learning how to loom Thorns wrapped gentle Around the palm Sweetness first And then the calm Someone humming Further in Like they knew What state we’re in And all the gladiolus Bent with careful grace Till every crimson blossom Pointed toward my face There was honey On her fingers Pollen in her breath Something in the garden Loved us almost to death --- [PRE-CHORUS — widening harmonies, subtle warning] Don’t pull away The roots go deeper Don’t speak too loud They start to hear you --- [HOOK — altered, more consuming, fuller harmonies] Tie the ribbon Thread the vine Trade your little name for mine Red flower Tall flower Drink the color from my mouth Red flower Bright flower Turn the body inside out --- [BRIDGE — drifting, ecstatic, dance-like, rhythm becomes circular] Spin slow Soft shoe Gold dust Morning dew Step light Lean near Red bloom Bloom here Everybody swaying Slow beneath the heat Petals brushing softly Against our teeth Sweet sting Bare throat Warm wind Flower smoke --- [BREAK — haze, breath harmonies, distant floral choir] "the garden never hurries" --- [VERSE 3 — realization without fear, almost euphoric] There were roots Inside the water Red pollen On the tongue I could hear The flower columns Breathing with Everyone Sunlight pooled Across the floor Thick as honey At the door And all the gladiolus Turned at once to me Not hungry Just waiting The vines around my wrists Had loosened while I slept Still— I did not leave --- [FINAL HOOK — radiant, overwhelming, emotionally irreversible] Tie the ribbon Split the seam Drink the color Feed the dream Red flower Tall flower Nothing blooms alone for long Red flower Bright flower Teach the body how to belong Red flower Slow flower Open like a little wound Red flower Warm flower Make another breathing room --- [OUTRO — layered voices dissolving into sunlight haze] Come where the gladiolus lean Tall and red and hardly seen [overlapping whispers] turn again… turn again… lean again… [barely audible final line] the garden keeps the shape of you of you.... of you... heh.... come closer. [chaotic cacophony of closure]
