Strategic Purple Not-Squirrels

[Verse 1 — Lower Floors] Lost child echo in the vents Haunted doors that breathe and bend Avelina slips through smoke I grab her shadow, miss her hand Furniture floats, upside-down Chairs and tables start to drown Water climbs the velvet walls Gravity forgets its job (Kazoo warble cuts through) Someone laughs from thirty floors Someone falls, but hits no doors [Pre-Chorus — Windows] (Sudden thin silence] People sit on window frames Like birds that don’t know how to land (Whisper) pss pss pss (Glass ripple sound) A dress falls No one dies [Chorus — The Flood] (Poly-rhythm chaos) Step-skip into rising blue All the halls turn into seas Little me inside my chest Swims through panic, swims through needs Right foot sinks Left foot floats The building forgets it’s stone I hold my breath and climb the sound Of jaws and bells and cracking bone (Glass shatter + jaw harp twang) [Verse 2 — The Resort Floor] (Harp + glockenspiel) Tile rooms glow like soft hotels Children running through the spell Strangers turn into friends Cookies, cake, and sugared plans Barbecue dreams in paper trays “We’ll send you more, don’t worry, stay” Kids eat all the samples gone Nobody minds, the world goes on [Bridge — The Wounded Boy] Tendons bloom like broken flowers Blood is louder than the hours He pushes back, I pull him close Strong legs beat the falling pulse 145 pounds of shaking life Carried through the burning light Down the stairs inside my chest I know I’m strong — I pass the test [Verse 3 — The Hospital] (Industrial clatter + wet floor sounds) Stroke-still woman on the tile Body leaking, time gone vile Clear food gloves, gospel breath Holy song inside the mess I sing soft They sing loud Joy leaks out of something foul Blood and tears and paper towels Turn to rhythm, turn to vows [Pre-Chorus — Gold] [Metallic chime] Golden potholder, dirty hands Washing filth in sacred plans “Just dipping gold in royal heat” The king just nods — we still can breathe [Chorus — The Gods] (Odd time, 13/8) Elf-giant in the glowing bath Temperature is his wrath Goddess turns, her eyes are cold Jealousy inside the gold Water’s wrong Time is late Someone failed to regulate Cameras blink — the gods descend Warriors walk, the hallways bend [Outro — The Standoff] (Jaw harp alone, heartbeat bass) I see myself — not brave, not tall Orange apron, human, small I try to shift I try to fight But skin remembers what is right No hero comes No shining sword Only strange Purple Not-squirrels Stand between us and the gods (Kazoo sigh) [Final Whisper] “Even small things hold the line.” (Mouse click. Jaw harp fades.)