Yellow Ink Margins

[Intro]
[Verse]
Ink on my fingers again
The kettle is humming a hymn
I sharpen the graphite so thin
To map out the stems and the skin
Of a world that is quiet and dim
Where secrets are tucked in the hem
[Pre-Chorus]
He knocks at the garden gate
I tell him the sketches are late
But I’ve stayed up far past eight
To seal up our botanical fate
[Chorus]
I hide a small bloom in the white
A daffodil tucked out of sight
Just a ghost of a golden light
In the margins I secretly write
Will he notice the curve of the line?
Or the heart that I’ve tried to confine?
Oh, let the yellow ink shine
[Post-Chorus]
In the white
Out of sight
Let it shine
[Verse]
He carries the forest in wool
His notebook is heavy and full
Of data and tidal-wave pull
I’m just the girl at the stool
Playing the botanical fool
Breaking every professional rule
[Pre-Chorus]
I hand him the leather-bound book
I tremble and lower my look
He’s the bait and the line and the hook
In a corner he never quite took
[Chorus]
I hide a small bloom in the white
A daffodil tucked out of sight
Just a ghost of a golden light
In the margins I secretly write
Will he notice the curve of the line?
Or the heart that I’ve tried to confine?
Oh, let the yellow ink shine
[Bridge]
I’m a shadow in spectacles, dear
Whispering what you won’t hear
Between every leaf and the year
I’m tracing the shape of my fear
In a petal that’s perfectly clear
Wishing that you would stay near
[Verse]
The winter will come for the park
The ink will grow cold in the dark
He’ll read by a flickering spark
And see my small, delicate mark
As silent as wood on the bark
A flame for a lonely old clerk
[Chorus]
I hide a small bloom in the white
A daffodil tucked out of sight
Just a ghost of a golden light
In the margins I secretly write
Will he notice the curve of the line?
Or the heart that I’ve tried to confine?
Oh, let the yellow ink shine
[Post-Chorus]
In the white
Out of sight
Let it shine
[Outro]