Now is the time when the promises will be made.
Tall words and long phrases,
Small walls and short mazes.
Now is the time when the promises will be made.

After the door shut, I didn’t move at all.
I didn’t swallow, I didn’t breathe, I didn’t blink.
For the first time that year I was a part of the room.
I was exactly who I was, and the rest of it was quiet.

I knew exactly where I was, and from where I had come.
I didn’t know where I was supposed to be,
And eventually thought that maybe there was
No-where I was supposed to be.

Her hair wasn’t in my lap anymore,
Wasn’t in my lap to be played with or touched.
Their voices weren’t in my room anymore,
Weren’t in my room to make my heart rush.

Before the chair could creak it crept through my mind
That I was missing more than I ever could have known.
And before my feet could hit the floor,
I remembered the promises.

Now is the time when the promises will be kept.
Quiet hours and squeaky voices,
Long showers and dreamy thoughts.
Now is the time when the promises will be kept.

Before long time will have what it wanted,
So much more than it wanted. And I will
Have only my hands to look at, only my hands
To remind me of my age and what is left.

In a thousand years I want there to be some part
Of my heart floating in someone else's. In a thousand
Years I want to have done exactly what time
Asked me to: what the omens begged me to.

In a thousand years I want to be full.
Before the ages shift their gaze, I want to be full enough
That I can forget I was ever in their gaze at all.
I want the kind of love everyone needs but no one knows to ask for.

Maybe then I can come back to her,
Maybe then I can come back to them,
And whisper with my voice: “It’s alright.
There’s nothing left for us. We kept our promises.”

Now is the time when the promises have been forgotten.
Endless years and wispy hair.
Seldom tears and skin too fair.
Now is the time when the promises have been forgotten.