[Verse 1] The mirror is behind the desk, half-covered by a coat. I move it just enough to see the person I still quote. A prototype without instructions. A book without its end. A shop with one beautiful button that says, “Tell a friend.” The room is full of evidence that I was nearly there. Every object says, “You meant to.” Every object says, “You cared.” [Chorus] I loved the almost. I loved the edge. I loved the little tremor of standing near the ledge. I called it lack of money. I called it bad timing. But the mirror watched me smiling every time I stopped climbing. [Verse 2] I knew the cost of better tools. I knew the grants were closed. I knew the perfect lighting would improve the work by ten percent— or so the spreadsheet showed. I bought a special notebook. I sharpened every pen. I made a map of getting ready and got ready once again. The mirror caught my breathing when I opened up the file. Not panic. Something warmer. Something almost like a smile. [Chorus] I loved the almost. I loved the wait. I loved a future version I could keep immaculate. I blamed the empty wallet. I blamed the broken chair. But nothing ever had to fail if I never sent it anywhere. [Verse 3] The money was a real problem. The rent was really due. But every time I named the reason, the reason let me keep the beautiful thing blue. Unfinished was forgiving. Unfinished let me dream. Unfinished never looked me in the face and asked me what I mean. The mirror didn’t condemn me. It only tilted toward the drawer marked AFTER I HAVE MONEY, where I kept the life I owed. [Bridge] Oh. I wasn’t just afraid that the work might not be good. I liked it suspended there— untouched, misunderstood. I liked the door half-open. I liked the held-in breath. I liked being the person who could become anything next. [Breakdown] That’s the part I can’t make noble. That’s the part I can’t explain. I kept the dream from entering the world so the dream could keep my name. [Final Chorus] I loved the almost. I loved the glow. I loved being nearly finished where nobody could say no. The mirror shows the whole thing now— the pleasure and the cost. I didn’t lose my life in chaos. I kept it beautifully paused. [Outro] The file is open. The room is plain. The mirror doesn’t move. I press the button marked Finish and watch the almost leave the room.
