The Gilded Grille

[Intro]
[Verse]
The jasmine crawls along the wall
Where cool and heavy shadows fall
I hide behind the ancient stone
To keep this secret as my own
You stand beneath the cypress tree
A ghost that only I can see
Your charcoal stains the morning white
To catch the dying Tuscan light
[Pre-Chorus]
My prayer book sits upon the grass
Watching every second pass
The ink is wet upon the page
A bird within a gilded cage
[Chorus]
Oh, painter of the morning light
Keep me in your golden sight
Through the iron and the dust
In this silent, sacred trust
Love is just a watercolor blur
A prayer that we both prefer
[Post-Chorus]
Softly now, the lute will play
As the amber fades away
[Verse]
You slide a sketch through narrow bars
Of velvet skies and distant stars
My fingers brush against your hand
A touch we both can understand
The cor anglais begins to sigh
Beneath the pale and heavy sky
You whisper through the iron lace
I memorize your weary face
[Pre-Chorus]
The rosary is cold and still
Against the damp and stony sill
One more poem, folded tight
To carry through the lonely night
[Chorus]
Oh, painter of the morning light
Keep me in your golden sight
Through the iron and the dust
In this silent, sacred trust
Love is just a watercolor blur
A prayer that we both prefer
[Interlude]
[Bridge]
The incense drifts in heavy clouds
Beyond the reach of temple crowds
If I could break the marble seal
And tell you everything I feel
But duty calls in shades of gray
To take my stolen heart away
[Breakdown]
Smudged blue lines
And jasmine vines
Stolen glances
Lost romances
One last look before the bell
A secret that we'll never tell
[Chorus]
Oh, painter of the morning light
Keep me in your golden sight
Through the iron and the dust
In this silent, sacred trust
Love is just a watercolor blur
A prayer that we both prefer
[Post-Chorus]
Softly now, the lute will play
As the amber fades away
The vespers ring across the hill
And keep the garden very still
[Outro]