Shadow Puppets

We're prepared to lose power

Every candle collected, tub full of water

Street siren, news anchor

Goes silent, the basement

Space beneath the staircase

Is a playhouse and a stage

By the spotlight of the tallest burning wick

She writes a plot line with her palms and fingers twisting

I give it a shot

But all that I got

Is a shadow so big, a shadow so wide

It's a darkness I could fit my whole self inside

She says "just pull away, away from the flame

Now it's a shape you can make with your hand

Just an owl coming to land

Just a monster you can understand"

I've a way with my words

And I use 'em to run you into the woods

Past the curve of our street

Jump the curb, in the weeds

Find you curled beneath a dead tree

Say you hurt because of me

By the spotlight of a blazing August sun

You write a plot line in my veins I can't outrun

But I give it a shot

Give it all that I got

That shadow is big, that shadow is wide

It's a darkness I could fit my whole self inside

But when I pull away, away from the flame

It's a shape I can make with my hand

Just a woman sinking in sand

Just a monster I can understand

Just a broken commandment

A wooden spoon, a shaking hand

Just a kiss in the back of a car

Brand new Bible, steady arm

Just an addict playing the piano

And a kid praying up to the stars

As a mother looks at her shadows

And can't understand who they are

That shadow is big, that shadow is wide

It's a darkness that I fit my whole self inside

But if I pull away, away from the flame

They're just shapes I can make with my hand

Owls coming to land

People sinking in sand

I can understand