We were flying down the turnpike
Taillights trailed behind us
The residue of our wings
We were angels then, out of our minds
Drunk on youth and envy
They called us troubled, but we were
Proud of our lives
We were turning into stories for our grandchildren

I remember
No one would admit it, but I wasn't supposed to be there
But all the laughter orbiting the car kept me safe
Though I was always in my head
The quiet one, that's what they call the old souls
Million miles away
They were ready to take over
They would end suffering with their naive ideals of a better place
Have the tired and ancient ones offer them the world
So they could rule it, destroy it, make it fitting for their royalty
And I took notes
Nice to have the memory of feeling invincible
If not angry
And afraid to sleep
More afraid to admit it
Because those dreams I had were always ending
Presenting me with daylight and ***** dishes
And the cold floors of strangers.

We cut our teeth on these uncertainties
And when the blood dried, and the smoke cleared
One of us was a little stronger, though none the wiser
And selected to continue, jaws forward aimed at the weakening sun
Who would travel across the world to leave you, but you chase,
Motivated by starvation

Wild and with eyes that lack remorse,
A totem of the darkness and the things you swore
Would never see the light of day

You know
time can be so painful, as she sticks into you,
passes through
Reduces you into nothing but your ghost and corpses
You become
The children you’re so desperate to teach a lesson
by leaving

I want to be big
I wanted to be so much bigger
But these are your mistakes
And mine is not the right to take them
I can only hurt, the way you hurt when you make these decisions

I will make myself a fire in a hearth,
Roaring in my place, and never venturing
Knowing how dangerous I have been, and could be
How sometimes hope ends up in ashes
But I'll be here
Because when you fall you’ll need a place to land

The blood dries and the smoke clears
And much to our surprise
You and I are both still here.