Half-Erased Ink

[Intro]
[Verse]
The lantern dims its golden eye
Above the gray and morning sky
I hold the paper to the light
To find the words you used to write
The salt has curled the edges thin
Where your story used to begin
[Pre-Chorus]
The ink is blue and turning pale
Like a ghost or a tattered sail
I trace the loops of every letter
Wishing that my heart was better
[Chorus]
Oh, the tide-pool was so clear
I wish I kept a picture here
Of the way the water hit your knee
When you were looking back at me
Now the memory is all I own
In this tower made of stone
[Post-Chorus]
In this tower made of stone
I am living here alone
Tracing lines I can't undo
Just to be close to you
[Verse]
We watched the tiny crabs go by
Underneath a violet sky
You reached for shells of pearly green
The prettiest girl I'd ever seen
I should have caught it on a frame
Before the ocean called your name
[Chorus]
Oh, the tide-pool was so clear
I wish I kept a picture here
Of the way the water hit your knee
When you were looking back at me
Now the memory is all I own
In this tower made of stone
[Bridge]
The viola drones a heavy chord
Across the floorboards, old and scored
The mouth harp sighs a lonely breath
In this house of life and death
The sun is climbing up the wall
While I wait for the rain to fall
[Hook]
Just a photograph
Not a ghost's laugh
Just a photograph
In the aftermath
[Verse]
My thumb is rough against the page
Feeling every year of age
The salt is stinging in my eyes
As the winter seagulls rise
I smell the cedar and the pine
Wishing that your hand was mine
[Chorus]
Oh, the tide-pool was so clear
I wish I kept a picture here
Of the way the water hit your knee
When you were looking back at me
Now the memory is all I own
In this tower made of stone
[Post-Chorus]
In this tower made of stone
I am living here alone
Tracing lines I can't undo
Just to be close to you
[Outro]