i always thought you were thru traffic that you were just jet lag background noise the kiss in the rain i've never had but what if you aren't? what if this was the thousandth time i have loved you? what if this is just a fresh coat of paint? what if god keeps a handkerchief soaked in the day we met next to his bed? maybe theres a reason i reach for no one in bed the way i would if someone used to be there you know, they say the road behind us is littered with things we couldn't hold onto i wonder how many times you've slipped through my hands like hour glass sand do you know how much erosion you've caused? i heard cupid stopped keeping count of how many times we came together just to come apart again maybe it was just a rumor it makes me think about how many times i've almost had you like if all this talk about history repeating itself endlessly replaying is true i wonder how many times things have happened already like the time i tried talking you into loving me back back fired or the time i could have sworn jesus & lazarus were playing chess with my heartbeat but it was only you smiling how many times have i tried to tell you how many times have you read this poem how many times have i tried not to meet you in my dreams anymore it's like sleep tries to warn me of what's happening before it does but i keep having this dream where i tell you bedtime stories and each one is a different way you die and in every one i can never save you it's like you're this song i have on repeat and every time it starts over i forget the words it's like you picked up the book entitled "us" and the back cover said you'd leave so you never bothered reading it tell me you aren't going back in that bookstore just to do it again or will you tell me tomorrow? or is this the time you don't say anything at all? if this has all happened before if we call it quits before we begin again from the beginning i just want to ask you to be my fire because i am tired of these old lives and i'd like to see them burn