The Keeper’s Key

[Verse 1] The lake fell quiet at my back. Her light slipped through the reeds. I waited for the pull to come, The order in my knees. His face was waiting in a pool Between the roots and stone. His lips said, “Come.” My legs said, “Run.” For once, they were my own. I took the road she pointed out And left him staring there. The first thing I had ever owned Was one unanswered prayer. Then every puddle caught his face. Each window held his eyes. He couldn't make me turn around. He'd have to make me try. [Chorus] You can watch me. You can call. Put your doorway in the wall. Turn the whole damn road around. I won't stop for you. There's a captain by the tide With the key you tried to hide. I've got till the morning finds me. I've got one thing left to do. [Verse 2] A light came on beyond the bend. His shop stood by the road. The same old sign. The same warm glass. The same lie being sold. I turned away. It stood ahead. I knew that crooked frame. He'd moved the bait across my path And thought I'd play the game. The magazine struck at my feet. Its pages opened wide. I stepped across the grinning thing And would not look inside. It fluttered down the road again, Then opened by a stream. I'd spent so long inside his tale. Tonight, I broke the scene. [Chorus] You can watch me. You can call. Put your doorway in the wall. Turn the whole damn road around. I won't stop for you. There's a captain by the tide With the key you tried to hide. I've got till the morning finds me. I've got one thing left to do. [Verse 3] The trees gave way to houses. The houses thinned to sand. I tasted salt upon my tongue And felt my shaking hands. The moon lay broken on the surf. His face broke with it too. He filled the glass of empty boats. I kept on pushing through. I called the captain to the wind. The breakers swallowed him. I searched beneath the rotting boards, Where daylight wouldn't swim. No lantern on the water. No footstep on the quay. Just one more line of paling sky And miles of empty sea. [Bridge] For one hard breath, I nearly turned. I knew the road back well. A thousand times, I'd taken it. A thousand years of hell. Then Jenny's hand was reaching out As clear as it had been. She hadn't held that water still To send me back to him. I called again. My throat gave out. I stumbled past the pier. The old man's face filled every pool. The captain wasn't here. [Final Chorus] You can watch me. You can call. Put your doorway in the wall. I have crawled too far to turn. I won't stop for you. There's a captain by the tide. Jenny wouldn't send a lie. I've got till the morning finds me. Let her words be true. [Outro] A laugh came from behind the rocks. I turned toward the sound. A boot stood on the wet black sand. No footprint marked the ground. The old man watched the empty shore. His eyes went straight through mine. But there, beyond his searching gaze, A captain stood beside the tide.