Platinum on the burlwood, one wing turned toward the lamp A patient little kingdom where the dust has learned to stand Gold letters sleep beside you, their spines worn smooth by hands And every scale keeps watch above the maps of vanished lands I brought my questions in a coat pocket You gave me nowhere to hide Keeper of the quiet room Tell me what the old world knew When the ink went dry, when the borders moved Who was brave enough to start anew? You don't breathe, but you hold the line Bright as a blade in the amber shine Keeper of the quiet room I leave my fear here with you The brass globe turns half an inch beneath a window's muted rain A country slips beneath my thumb, then finds its name again Your folded claws remember storms no living hand can prove Yet something in your lifted throat still looks prepared to move I came to count the locked-up treasures You made the silence speak Keeper of the quiet room Tell me what the old world knew When the ink went dry, when the borders moved Who was brave enough to start anew? You don't breathe, but you hold the line Bright as a blade in the amber shine Keeper of the quiet room I leave my fear here with you If I open every volume If I trace each river's course Will I find the missing answer Or only learn to ask with force? Then your silver eye catches fire And the room becomes a gate Not a relic, not a warning Just a heart that chose to wait Keeper of the quiet room Now I know what I must do When the ink goes dry, when the borders move I will be brave enough to start anew You don't breathe, but you hold the line Bright as a blade in the amber shine Keeper of the quiet room I take my fear and walk it through Platinum on the burlwood Morning gathers at the door I leave the books and turn the key The dragon guards them all once more Will you choose to open that door
