Cardboard

We sit among the cardboard dust

And I will fold the page

Leave just your fingers on the crease

The paper starts to age

There is a tear beneath the skin

No hand can hold for long

And if I turned to smoother sheets

I’d still sing your own song

Hold on a little longer now

Before the creases break

I hear the friction of your touch

Inside an empty hall

Just paper

Pressed beside me

Just paper

Unfolding then

Just paper

Tearing slowly

Just paper

Until the edge

I dropped the life we tried to pack

A flat, unprotected sheet

You pressed a line into the blank

And locked your shape in mine

And now it lingers in the air

By every corner torn

And even when you smooth it out

I only want you more

Hold on a little longer now

Before the creases break

I hear the friction of your touch

Inside an empty hall

Just paper

Pressed beside me

Just paper

Unfolding then

Just paper

Tearing slowly

Just paper

Until the edge

Just paper

Tearing slowly

Just paper

At the edge

And even when you smooth it out

The crease remains