Suitcases by the Door

Basking in early April sun
Shedding your skin in more ways than one
You turn to me briefly then ask me discreetly
How can I live for my past self
When they're in a box up on my shelf
Beleaguered by rust, covered in dust

Teach me the melodies
Of the songs you used to sing
When you were seventeen
Are you still seventeen?

Do you remember in the fall
Two hours north of Montreal
We talked about losing and why it's confusing
Leaving suitcases by the door
And I wonder who it is you wait for
The dead or the living, the selves you're forgiving

Teach me the melodies
Of the songs you used to sing
When you were twenty-three
Are you still twenty-three?

Porcelaine portraits
From your childhood fortress
Hung up on the walls of your heart
You paint and you polish
A person that you promised
Your brushstrokes betray a new start

Teach me the melodies
Of the songs you're gonna sing
When you are free
Are you free?

Basking in early April sun
Shedding your skin in more ways than one