The worst day is never quite as bad
The best day always better
The valleys never near as deep
The mountains even higher
Its not optimistic fervor
Or romanticized observation
Its simply the effect you have on me
Every time you trust me more

Yes it's true you're beautiful
And sinfully sweet as well
But none of that holds a candle
To the way you lean on me without fail
I promised never to run away
But that seemed a slight cheat
If I'm honest
Because while you may think it's noble
Its the easiest thing I've ever done

So you may worry that I'll run away
Anxious you'll over share
But the only thing that worries me
Is that you won't when you know I'm there
I don't help because I have to
Not even to fill a want
But the reason that I do it
Is I can't imagine my life without

I've kept the promises I made
Stood steady in the storms
Never caved in to the waves
First one, then two, even three
Never failing, always strong

But the one I never got to make
Is the one that haunts me still
As the precipice approaches
I still consider the jump
But what once was safe
Has become suicide

So I'm left with one broken promise
Not one made to anyone
Not even one unsaid
The only broken promise
Is what I promised to myself

There's no ill will
No wanting for revenge
I don't want her to hurt
Don't even want her to regret

I just want her to think
To remember now and then
Please don't forget
Don't lose the memory of my face

Remember how you felt
Not the love or chemistry
But remember being safe
Anchored in the storm

I don't want her to be sad
That would not be very kind
But what I really want
Is to be a splinter in her mind

I once made you a promise
So long ago it seems a lifetime
Never again would you have
To face the darkness alone

It was a promise I would repeat
With each spiral and dark descent
I would never run away
No matter how much you expected it

Eventually you said goodbye
And it shattered me to pieces
But that promise never left me
Even if the muse behind it did

I worried for a while
Until I knew that you were safe
Then I focused on myself
And eventually pieces changed to peace

And now so much time has passed
But that promise isn’t void
So permanent its carved in stone
Even if I never need fulfill it

Like a cellar in a storm
A place of refuge from the wind
I'm not asking you always stay here
Just asking you know I'm still there

For storms are so destructive
The tornadoes, rain, and hail
So I'll always keep that promise
I will never let it fail

Second chances might not be
Quite what you expect
When you hope to try again
At the exact same circumstance

Mistakes are made each day
By each and everyone
And maybe everyone gets to try again
Just not the way they think

They think they'll get a chance
To right the wrongs they made
To love her right the second time
When the first failure was all their fault

But those second chances rarely happen
Yet that doesn't mean you haven't learned
You won't get to love her better
But you can love the next one right

Burning bridges
That tired metaphor
Often still seems so apt
But you missed one important point
When you tried to light that fire
The fact is that we
Like any modern bridge
Were never made of wood

You tried to ignite
Concrete and steel
Under an ocean gasoline
Threw the match
Watched the flames
And walked away
Thinking you had done
A necessary evil
For us both to survive

But as the flames died away
The heat began to dwindle
It became blatantly obvious
The structure is still there
This was no matchstick trestle
No tinder span we crossed
Those flames that were so impressive
Left no destruction in their wake

Now I'm left to sit and stare
At that empty overpass
I know chasing across it
Would be wrong
So I stand here quietly waiting
For you to realize the truth
That while the metaphor may tired
The bridge is still intact

Just keep walking
The words ringing in his ears
He marches ever onward
Trying to leave the memories behind

Around each new bend
A new start could await
But all he finds is empty promises
Nothing to the fill the void
She left deep inside

Each new path
Every possibility tried
He tries desperately to forget
Not to taint others with her memory

Comparisons aren't fair
To them, to her, to him
But inevitably they creep in
And the world seems to fall short

Not because she was perfect
Or even better than anyone else
But like a puzzle piece misses it's companion
Because nothing else fits quite right

He doesn't want her back
She's happy, secure, and safe
He knows shes probably better off
So he moves on, walking ever forward