Blueprints for the Ghost

[Verse 1]
That second-floor walkup on South Peoria,
I've already picked out the curtains in my head.
The kind of thin cotton that won't hold the morning,
A landlord special on the single bed.
I know the sound the key will make in the lock,
A worn-out brass tooth on a cheap tin ring.

[Chorus]
And I'm measuring twice for a life I don't want,
Sanding the edges of every lonely thing.
Got the blueprints for the ghost I'm gonna be,
Just mending the future before it mends me.

[Verse 2]
The light from the street will cut a clean line on the floor,
'Bout a hands-width shy of my daddy's old boots.
Last night you whispered, "You feel far away,"
And I thought of the shallow, tenacious roots
Of that persimmon tree in my grandparents' yard,
How it held to the dirt through the wind and the dust.

[Chorus]
'Cause I'm measuring twice for a life I don't want,
Sanding the edges and planing off the rust.
Got the blueprints for the ghost I'm gonna be,
Just mending the future before it mends me.

[Bridge]
And what if I get the joinery wrong?
What if the varnish never quite sets?
(VOCAL GOES COMPLETELY DRY, INTIMATE, CLOSE-MIC)
What if this whole damn house is built on a fault line of unspoken debts?

[Outro]
Just drawing the blueprints...
For the ghost I'm gonna be.