Sparrow-Throat Sky

[Verse 1]
I run a bead of caulk along the sill of the Girard window,
The gun sighs a secret when the pressure gets too low.
It’s a boat-builder’s muscle memory, a truth my knuckles know,
Just before the seven o’clock news turns the whole room blue.
You’re sketching skylines on a napkin, you don't even see me move.

[Chorus]
Just sealing up the seams, girl, keeping the weather out.
(Nothing’s getting in here)
It's how my people show their love when the wind begins to shout.
(Nothing’s getting out)

[Verse 2]
I catch that pluff mud smell on a North Philly wind somehow,
And Gussie’s voice comes through the static on the radio now.
“'That sparrow-throat sky,' she'd say, 'means hold on to what's hewn.'"
But the salt air she was tasting ain't in this little room.
Your hand feels like a stranger’s laid across my afternoon.

[Chorus]
Just sealing up the seams, girl, keeping the weather out.
(Nothing’s getting in here)
It's how my people show their love when the wind begins to shout.
(Nothing’s getting out)

[Bridge]
This is the low tide of the heart, ain’t it, baby?
The quiet part.
When the silence gets so heavy it becomes a work of art.

[Outro]
I finished the last window.
Now we can’t even hear the cars.