Every Color Gutter Out - Electric Bard

I nurse a tepid vintage while the repartee derails Watching laughter hit the ceiling like a hammer hitting nails They debate the price of timber and a flat beside the sea While a quiet numbness anchors in the center part of me Just an unobtrusive listener, polite and pacified Creasing napkins into triangles to keep the panic occupied A sudden drop in register whenever names get spoken round Furtive glances tracking down the teaspoon rattling on the ground Nobody is callous, they just cultivate a diplomatic buffer Checking on the weather so the etiquette will never suffer Speaking to a breathing tenant like a phantom in the hall Tiptoeing past the plaster where the picture used to fall They keep a tidy radius around the recent wreck A gentle palm between the shoulder blades, a nod to split the check Watching Every Color Gutter Out Into An Ashen Gray Too destitute of appetite to run, too drained to stay Every sweet condolence sounds expensive and rehearsed Cleverly delivered with the punctuation reversed A blast of easy merriment goes rolling down the parquet stair While I retrieve an overcoat deposited upon a chair No histrionic monologues, no petty grievances displayed Merely the evasive shuffle of an uncle who has overstayed Decades slide like dishwater across the chipped enamel plate Wondering if leaving early qualifies as being late A sudden drop in register whenever names get spoken round Furtive glances tracking down the teaspoon rattling on the ground Nobody is callous, they just cultivate a diplomatic buffer Checking on the weather so the etiquette will never suffer Speaking to a breathing tenant like a phantom in the hall Tiptoeing past the plaster where the picture used to fall They keep a tidy radius around the recent wreck A gentle palm between the shoulder blades, a nod to split the check Watching Every Color Gutter Out Into An Ashen Gray Too destitute of appetite to run, too drained to stay Every sweet condolence sounds expensive and rehearsed Cleverly delivered with the punctuation reversed They inquire about my stamina, I murmur that I manage fine Spinning out polite evasions underneath the pantry line A modest plate, a copper kettle purring in a quiet room Whittling down the daylight hours with a dustpan and a broom Nobody interrogates the silence, nobody disturbs the dust Settling the account with small disbursements of polite distrust They keep a tidy radius around the recent wreck A gentle palm between the shoulder blades, a nod to split the check Watching Every Color Gutter Out Into An Ashen Gray Too destitute of appetite to run, too drained to stay Every sweet condolence sounds expensive and rehearsed Cleverly delivered with the punctuation reversed Clear the saucer, tip the hat Pardon this and pardon that Step into the alley sleet Counting curbs along the street Rattle down the iron latch Trip the wire, slip the catch Nothing left to reconcile tonight