Opus 131 "Dear Little Me"

Opus 131 "Dear Little Me" Dear little me, you drew a cape on a lunch napkin and swore the moon was just a stop on the way to Mars. You wore a towel like a rocket, ran through the hall on bare feet, said someday you'd break the sky and bring back proof. I sit in a chair with a nameplate, a stack of forms, a locked calendar. The days come in gray folders and ask for my best behavior. But I still keep your map folded in my desk drawer. I still hear you calling from the edge of the floor. Oh, dear little me, we are not done yet (dear little me) Oh, dear little me, I’m still on the fence but not the end You dreamed of fire and flight, I got fluorescent walls (you dreamed of flight) Still, I’m here tonight and I’m not letting go at all You thought grown-up meant a hatch door, a suit, a badge, a secret code. Instead it’s keys and receipts and saying yes when you mean no. I know the world got louder, I know it asked for pieces. I gave away some shining things just to keep the lights on. But I haven’t sold the whole sky, I kept one star in my hand. I kept the part that reaches for what it cannot understand. So if you’re listening somewhere behind the bed or under the stairs, I need you to know this: I’m still in there. Oh, dear little me, we are not done yet (dear little me) Oh, dear little me, I’m still on the fence but not the end You dreamed of fire and flight, I got fluorescent walls (you dreamed of flight) Still, I’m here tonight and I’m not letting go at all Maybe I won’t wear a visor, maybe I won’t leap a roof. Maybe courage looks like Monday, and staying when I want to run. Maybe being brave is folding the hard, gray day in half, then slipping one bright promise inside the wallet by the cards. And if the suit gets heavy, if the room goes cold, I’ll open that old drawing and let the whole thing glow. Oh, dear little me, we are not done yet (dear little me) Oh, dear little me, I’m still on the fence but not the end You dreamed of fire and flight, I got fluorescent walls (you dreamed of flight) Still, I’m here tonight and I’m not letting go at all Oh, dear little me, hear me plain and true (hear me plain and true) All is not yet lost, I’m coming back for you