[Verse 1]
The kettle boils; I lose the thread
A name slips out, then circles back
My hand keeps time against the cup
Tik-tik-tik, a small insistence
[Pre-Chorus]
The hallway leans when I turn too fast
My heel comes down like borrowed stone
I count the steps from room to room
And try to make this body home
[Chorus]
I am not the years you see
Not the tremor, not the pause
Though my feet move slow and heavy
Though the balance leaves its cause
I am here beneath the weather
Still myself in every breath
Young before my time, but living
With a heart that won’t go deaf
[Verse 2]
A sleeve takes both hands to find
The doorway shifts a little wide
The afternoon has drained my bones
Before the day has said goodbye
[Pre-Chorus]
You wait beside me, not ahead
You let the silence have its say
No need to finish every word
Just stay with me along the way
[Chorus]
I am not the years you see
Not the tremor, not the pause
Though my feet move slow and heavy
Though the balance leaves its cause
I am here beneath the weather
Still myself in every breath
Young before my time, but living
With a heart that won’t go deaf
[Bridge]
Some days the fog erases roads
Some days my hands won’t hold their place
But when you meet my eyes and wait
I find a little room for grace
[Final Chorus]
I am more than what you see
More than tremor, more than pause
Though my feet move slow and heavy
I still choose the steps I cause
I am here beneath the weather
Still myself in every breath
Young before my time, still living
Still a voice the dark can’t deaf
[Outro]
Tik-tik-tik, the cup is still
Your hand beside mine, warm and still