Blue Plates, Cedar Hallway

Lyrics

[Verse 1] You folded the papers beneath the blue plates Said, “Some things are better left out of the light” I learned to read silence from the shape of your shoulders And counted the lies by the length of the night You kept his name out of every photo Cut one place from the edge of the frame I asked why the hallway smelled like cedar You changed the subject and called me by name [Pre-Chorus] I was old enough to hear the door close Young enough to think you were keeping me safe [Chorus] What did you bury underneath our kitchen floor? What did you promise I would never ask for? You held the truth like a match in your hand Then watched me burn for not understanding Mother, don’t tell me you did it for love Love doesn’t make a stranger of your blood [Verse 2] I found the envelope inside your winter coat A date, a town, a face with my eyes The ink had faded but the wound stayed open You knew the question before I arrived Did you think I would break from the answer? Did you think I was safer in doubt? You built a house from carefully chosen sentences Now every room is giving you out [Pre-Chorus] I was old enough to hear the door close Young enough to think you were keeping me safe [Chorus] What did you bury underneath our kitchen floor? What did you promise I would never ask for? You held the truth like a match in your hand Then watched me burn for not understanding Mother, don’t tell me you did it for love Love doesn’t make a stranger of your blood [Bridge] Say it plainly, no polished version No soft landing, no family excuse Was there a life before you had me? Was I the secret you chose to lose? I can forgive a wound with a beginning I can’t forgive pretending I had none [Final Chorus] Tell me what you buried underneath our kitchen floor Tell me who was waiting when you shut that door You held the truth like a match in your hand And left me burning where I learned to stand Mother, I am more than the story you concealed More than the daughter you decided not to heal If love is still somewhere beneath all this dust Give me the truth, and let the rest be us [Outro] The plates are still blue, the hallway still cedar But I won’t make a home out of silence anymore