A Pencil Mark on Pine

[Intro]
[Verse]
Fluorescent hum and lemon Pledge
Dusty shelves near the window edge
I found a box of mismatched things
Between the spoons and copper rings
Then I saw the cedar grain
Calling out a family name
[Pre-Chorus]
The air got thick and heavy
Like a break in the levee
That shape is one I’d know
From twenty years ago
[Chorus]
It’s a half-carved mallard wing
A silent, wooden thing
You left the beak unfinished
The light in here diminished
I never asked to hold the knife
Now I’m learning about life
From a bird that cannot fly
Under a thrift store sky
[Verse]
I flipped it o’er to see the base
A smudged pencil mark in place
A little 'J' or just a line
To show the cut was doing fine
The paint is chipped on the throat
Like a secret you never wrote
I smell the sawdust on your skin
Where did the silence begin?
[Pre-Chorus]
The cello starts to sigh
In the corner of my eye
I see your hands so steady
Before you weren't ready
[Chorus]
It’s a half-carved mallard wing
A silent, wooden thing
You left the beak unfinished
The light in here diminished
I never asked to hold the knife
Now I’m learning about life
From a bird that cannot fly
Under a thrift store sky
[Bridge]
I watched your thumbs, calloused and grey
I thought there’d be another day
To sit on the porch and watch shavings fall
But I just stood there, leaning on the wall
Now the wood is hard and cold
A story that was never told
[Verse]
Three dollars and a heavy heart
For a piece of broken art
I’ve got it on the kitchen table now
Just wishing I could remember how
You held the blade against the grain
To carve away the quiet pain
[Chorus]
It’s a half-carved mallard wing
A silent, wooden thing
You left the beak unfinished
The light in here diminished
I never asked to hold the knife
Now I’m learning about life
From a bird that cannot fly
Under a thrift store sky
[Post-Chorus]
Just a mark on the pine
Grandpa, you’re still mine
Just a mark on the pine
I’m doing just fine
[Outro]