Sea of Doors

Lights line the water like a row of eyes Two letters burning where my knuckles rise—A D Men at the threshold say my debt can fade Bring them the child and the slate is paid Crib goes quiet as a doorway tears Sold to a winter mouth that wears my stare Skyline sparks, and a city takes me in Prophet in the mirror is my colder twin Flip after flip—every coin lands the same I chase her name through lighthouses and rain Constants and variables pull like oars Bird or cage, both hands leave sores If I cut the river where the story begins Maybe she can breathe where I never swim Drown me before I’m him Turn off the lighthouse, dim If that baptism makes me him Elizabeth—forgive—drown me before I’m him Na‑na, na‑na—sea of doors Na‑na, na‑na—shift the course Na‑na, na‑na—constants bend Na‑na, na‑na—break the end Songbird screaming like a chapel bell Pages flip themselves where her shadows dwell Paris in a snow‑globe, cracks along the seam A thimble on a hand where a finger used to be Down to the neon where the sea wears night Detective shoes and a tide‑clock light Every hall I run, she’s learning wide And every me I was gets left inside Change that moment at the preacher’s shore Hands on my head till I’m nothing more If I never rise, the winter can’t begin End me at the source so her world can spin Drown me before I’m him Turn off the lighthouse, dim If that baptism makes me him Elizabeth—forgive—drown me before I’m him Turn off the lighthouse, dim If that baptism makes me him Elizabeth—forgive—drown me before I’m him Your hands on my shoulders, a thousand yous sing “Let go at the water—stop the prophet from being” If the river closes over who I might become You open every door where you’re only someone’s daughter, not his crown Drown me before I’m him Turn off the lighthouse, dim If that baptism makes me him Elizabeth—live—drown me before I’m him Na‑na, na‑na—sea of doors Na‑na, na‑na—shift the course Na‑na, na‑na—constants bend Na‑na, na‑na—break the end