Duress

In a basement room I always came through

Was the brighter bulb stooge on a stage for two

For all our tricks, I promise you this

I will put it in a song for you

Now the space we dreamed stays so vivid to me

Like a night-time scene from a smaller green

How could I explain to anyone new that a place that moved meant everything?

And it’s not so much that we’re under great duress

Was just in the nature of things, I guess

Life’s been slowly gathering

And time feels slow -- know you know what I mean

How you came from where you were

Will always be undamaged to me

There was a reason you wanted money

It was the reason I needed to move

To plant a private pot for running

All that running we’ve been known to do

And it’s not so much that we’re under great duress

Was just in the nature of things, I guess

Life-size rocks to a choppy lake

In a windy city that made our limbs shake

And you and I on shore watching the moon

I worry you won’t recall its shape

But one time alone on a casual stroll

A thousand gnats gathered near our pupils

Though sun-showered they unsettled my skin

But you said they were a miracle