[Verse 1] Red tent ceiling dripping like a warning sign Ribbit’s face smeared across the circus sky Painted laughter on a cardboard carousel I blink once you’re gone, locked in your private hell I taste panic metal on my tongue Tell myself “don’t you dare get close to anyone” [Chorus] I keep my distance ’cause love turns into painted ghosts You say “we’re safe here” but I’ve seen how that promise goes Ribbit’s eyes still haunt me Kaufmo falling off the map If I let her in, will I watch Pomni crack, crack, crack? So I push them back (I push them back) [Verse 2] Caine’s smile stretched too tight, it splits Cards on the table no more party tricks “You think hiding keeps you from the fall?” Voice cuts jagged bounces off the carnival walls “Ribbit’s gone Kaufmo’s gone, that’s it” He says it once like a fuse, then it finally hits Silk words snapping into steel, into static rage Clown mask slipping I’m a rat in his spinning cage [Chorus] I keep my distance ’cause love turns into painted ghosts You say “we’re safe here” but I’ve seen how that promise goes Ribbit’s eyes still haunt me Kaufmo falling off the map If I let her in, will I watch Pomni crack, crack, crack? So I push them back (I push them back) [Bridge] Pomni laughing tiny flame in a draft I joke, I jab but I’m bracing for the aftermath Every smile’s just a countdown in disguise If she glitches do I shatter or survive? Caine’s voice still drilling in my skull “Face it, Jax the funhouse is full” Of empty chairs where my friends used to sit How many times can a heart lose and still exist? [Chorus] So I keep my distance ’cause love turns into painted ghosts You reach for my hand but I’m braced for another loss Ribbit’s eyes still haunt me Kaufmo slipping through the cracks If I let you in, will I watch Pomni snap, snap, snap? So I twist my smile and I push you back (yeah, I push you back) [Outro] Under circus lights I’m the last one left to joke Terrified of watching one more mind go up in smoke Better you hate me than vanish while I choke I’ll bleed alone before I watch you turn to smoke
