Nurture

And on my fourth birthday, looking like a photograph

We would all forget about, and only discover later on

With all the newspapers, piled up like epitaphs

For the man you never knew, but hold on to like a silver swan

And in the forest that I created in my head

I was a warrior at home in the wild

My bones were big and strong

They'd never get me like they did in real life

If I could just get bigger and better

Could you stay a little longer, please?

Could you stay a little longer, please?

And in the lamp light, swaddled like a baby tight

I read a hundred page to get lost each night

I made a skin out of the brother's grim

Made a magic box to hide the shouting in

'Cause you were busy biting at each other's heels

In an angry fog that never seemed to clear

But it's okay, 'cause I did pretty well anyway

And you're proud

But could you stay a little longer, please?

Could you stay a little longer, please?

And now I'm fifteen, falling on my skinny knees

Telling her, I'm sorry, please

You know I love you more than anyone

But I must have got the message wrong

'Cause the more I tried

The more it came undone

And she was clever

Knew just how to build you up

And then chip away 'til you went wrong

Could you stay a little longer, please?

Could you stay a little longer, please?

Could you stay a little longer, please?

Could you stay a little longer, please?

And then at twenty-three, I asked someone to follow me

Into a cacophony of all of the things I'd fled

And he was ready, gave me very part of him

But my ribs were breaking with the weight of it

And so I left, so well rehearsed at leaving beds by then

And now I'm all grown, moving to new home

With a man my heart holds dearer than anyone

And I'm a mess, so sure I'm gonna love him less

With every step, 'cause that's all that I've come to expect

But as the months pass, I'm surprised to feel my heart

Getting bigger and better, at last