Bend toward the light Where it's all vacancy, obsessively designed Deploy a smile Require occasional reminders that you're alright Decrease in size Imagine everyone who's right there with you Suddenly a trial doesn't sound insane When I calm myself down, can I see you again? Because I have seen the future and it's hard to explain We cannot work it out We do not make it out Bend toward the light Adjust your eyes Recall the absence, recall perfection, then say goodbye Intensify If I could feel it then, I feel it now Suddenly a trial doesn't sound insane It's a blanket of stars, the impossible thing It's the best that I can do when I don't understand When I calm myself down, can I see you again? There's a balance, it's embarrassing—intentionally vague There's a chance that I am overqualified for this fate Because I have seen the future and I'm sorry to say We do not make it

Come on in, we were just concluding Shall I stage a scene or let the lights confuse me, in case you're stuck? Let's reassess tomorrow I'm dreaming of a ghost presuming they'll pass right through me Guess I can't stop moving yet Come on dear, we were born abruptly Shall I interfere or let goodnight get ugly, in case you're stuck? Let's reassess tomorrow I'm wasted, not exactly lucid, testing inconclusive When I touch my face, I feel so real Now you're talking in your sleep, reconstructed too loosely Guess you can't stop moving yet Will we ever get lost again? Uncertain at last My god, you're lovely Instant, otherworldly crash Will we ever get whole again? Spectacular trap Come back, look busy Of course you could be happier Earth circling back Perhaps you're dizzy Of course I could be happier We could be happier

Last night a simplified sunset Reanimated, powerless Will the work destroy me? Last year was organized and cruel A license to be miserable Will the shock restore me? I don't know Help arrives, formaldehyde in short supply Who took what from who? The funeral's rescheduled, grab some space The foundation shakes The treatment doesn't take This should be great Last night a qualified success A reservoir of arrogance Will denial preserve me? Last year I barely left my bed The televised cry you'd expect Something had to give Look, I confess the affair was uninspired, a test Well I guess there's an earthquake coming The funeral isn't Tuesday, so don't be late The funeral ends early, no one complains

I call in to cancel, then pause for romantic mediocrity Most inconsequential composite of cancer I'm sick, but I'll dance until demand has increased You have to collapse to consolidate past lives—summoning strength Make time for the doctor, take back what you've gone through A healthy exchange But of course this is nonsense reborn out of context It's Valentine's Day There's a lot not to process, uncomfortable contrast Have I made any progress? Do you recognize me? Unexplainable lightness, marked down for politely pretending to sleep I reject your advice while compulsively lying Dear god, don't remind me—I know I can't leave You have to collapse to consolidate past lives—wait, does that sound insane? I recognize that I may need help So I engage with this vacant hell Eventually the truth will reveal itself We're allowed to change

Happy birthday, Brett Lay down, what's wrong? You're sounding too refreshed to come undone, so just play along Look, I'm prepared to part with my possessions, make the ultimate exception Tear the entrance down, go underground until nothing works Nothing is forever—let me leave Happy birthday, Brett Write aimlessly You'll wander past the edge of incomplete and then fall asleep Look, I was out too long to be exhausted Stood up too slowly to be nauseous If it was the knife I needed I think I'd be self aware and stay unconscious Seize control of the dream, resurrected routine, deconstruct the machine until nothing works Nothing is forever—let me leave Our past, a curiosity The forest floor is in retreat Just let me suffer enough to recover a melody Nothing is forever—let me leave Our past unravels elaborately A wealth of knowledge just out of reach Let me suffer enough to recover a melody It goes: Nothing is forever When the music ends, you made some friends You did your share You're almost there Happy birthday, Brett Lay down, be calm Are you ready to accept there's something wrong, or just move along? Look, I'm prepared to talk through my misgivings Roll the tape from the beginning Attempt to redefine a quiet life as one worth truly living But you must come alone Stop taking notes, please listen to me closely I cast a spell upon the mirror I dreamt the end was drawing nearer I brought this shame upon my family No, please don't cross me—I'll disappear Conjuring a strange reluctance I'm sentimental, I'm losing focus The weightless thoughts of the kid who cannot reminisce out of fear of being noticed All at once, a disruption An earthquake, a suffering I realize I'm nothing and nothing works Ten years older, where do I begin? Returning to my parent's basement, holding hands beneath the blankets Passing secrets through the train tracks Who's tripping? Who's ballroom dancing? We were cursed—it was perfect We were both convinced that darkness is a path to permanence Made special by isolation, the panic merging with vacation You left me too many books to read and walked into the ocean I held my breath and filled the bathtub until it overflowed It overflowed, so I declared emergency You drew that sunset beautifully The band was breaking up, there was too much noise to justify So I drove back and forth across that bridge, though I was terrified Eventually it just seemed practical to share a bed, to share a life Ten years older, where do I begin? We renounced our useless innocence It's Christmas Eve service on acid, from crooked rain to skipping classes Then it's home again, a responsible threat Repainting the walls before paying the rent Soft safety net has lost its effect Drink to distraction, a passionate mess Across the town, needed proof, so fireworks fell on that tin roof There was no naked crowd, apocalypse now We communicate in excuses I was still spinning around the artwork and album Board up the doors and record like a thousand lies that allow for desperate nostalgia We wrote them together, it never occurred to me Nothing is forever and opposites are heavy Once the basement was locked, the apartment was empty Oh no, a different coast now The unemployable joke of a household It didn't matter, we laughed in the face of inaction Free at last to greet the groundswell Instead of settling down in accessible hell, we divided our guilt Man, it never occurred to me Nothing is forever and there are consequences When the worry wears off, you return to your senses Oh yeah, we're faceless neighbors A problematic comparison plagues us As jealously haunts the garage where a fire was formed This house wasn't robbed of its charm, it was torched We attract some stares in a crisis of character Barely embarrassed, it never occurred to me Nothing is forever, features slowly fading A connection convenient can be separated We're spiritless bodies impressively staging apologies Honestly, never occurred to me Nothing is forever, no one is truly crazy We are small, we are wasting our lives hesitating It's over, it's been over for years I did the work and now I'm finally here All at once, it occurs to me: Nothing is forever No one is necessary No reason to give up No reason to keep going Happy birthday, fall asleep Okay, let's sing: Happy birthday, fall asleep Slip into uncertainty We're all somewhat lost We've got to trust each other We're allowed to change Nothing is forever