Dear John (in Black Ink)

[Verse 1] Kitchen light buzzing half-awake Coffee stains on yesterday's plate You unfold the paper Hands like glass My name in the corner Written last Two lines in Your breathing slows "I loved you once" in careful rows Each curve of ink A sharpened blade Every "always" quietly mislaid [Chorus] Dear John In black ink I'm gone By the time you read this I'm already home Somewhere you can’t follow Somewhere I belong Read it once Read it twice I'm already gone [Verse 2] I circled truth like a nervous crow Your birthday crossed out in the margin notes Apologies pressed in a crooked frame Dates and disasters All the same You track the tremor in every word Hear my suitcase in the scraping verbs Past tense heavy like a closing door You whisper my name But it's not yours anymore [Chorus] [Bridge] [whispered vocals] Fold the corners Break the spine You were yours I was never mine Every promise Thin and worn Paper cuts where love was torn [low vocal register] Keep the letter Keep the ring Keep the silence that we sing I’m a shadow down a different hall You read my leaving as the curtains fall [Chorus]