Nom De Plume

There's an alter ego of myself
His lips are marked dull
He couldn't recognize me if he tried
But I wear his hand in mine
Like a weathered flower
Latch keys and bones

The jagged slate of new beginnings
And the bitter taste of old ghosts
I've bartered with my time
And bottled iris
It's the memories that haunt me the most

They exist in cages like rotting birds
While the minutes escape them
Count me with the dead as I walk with them
I count their bulging veins
Fingers trudge through my sores
This is where I buried them

My being has faltered
Somewhere between tongue and cheek
Where we adorn our bodies with the skin of others
Like pearls, Like rubies
Like the sparkling tongues we see in the pictures

Could you still want me like this?
The haughty king of dirt
Could you still want me?
When I don't breathe without a sigh
Could you still want me like this?
When my feet won't move themselves
Could you still want me?
I can't speak through crooked jaws
Jesus sing, Jesus sing unto me

Jesus sing unto me
Jesus sing unto me
Jesus sing unto me
Jesus sing unto me