Carry Me On

The porter calls, “Last train!” along the platform. 
I fold your letter small enough to hide. 
One brown suitcase, one ticket northbound — 
The words I couldn't say still weigh me down.

The train pulls out with a patient shudder, 
Past shuttered shops and the river mill. 
I watch my old town loosen its hold, 
While the window keeps the hills quite still.

Your silver button rests in my pocket, 
A little weight I don't need to keep. 
I count the lamps along the railway 
And let the miles teach my heart to sleep.

Then mile by mile, the wheels find time, 
A little faster, a little less mine.

Carry me on, carry me through, 
Past every place that reminds me of you. 
The dark rolls back, the far signs run. 
I'm leaving in pieces, arriving as one.
 
Carry me on, carry me free. 
There's room in the morning for someone like me.

The windows fill with hurried color: 
A station clock, a row of caf;s. 
A saxophone spills from a basement doorway 
As the train cuts bright through the maze.

I trade my silence for a steady rhythm, 
Tap out the fear with my heel on the floor. 
The towns flash by like pages turning. 
I don't belong to that hurt anymore.

The rails run quick, the night gives way. 
My heart keeps time with the tracks today.

Carry me on, carry me through, 
Past every place that reminds me of you. 
The dark rolls back, the far signs run. 
I'm leaving in pieces, arriving as one.
 
Carry me on, carry me free. 
There's room in the morning for someone like me.

At the end of the line, the ballroom is turning. 
A mirror ball scatters bright coins on the wall. 
Strangers make space, and I step into motion. 
No promise to keep, no name to recall.

I dance with the ache till it loosens its fingers. 
I dance till my shoulders remember they're mine. 
A hand offers water; a smile answers softly. 
The room opens wide, and I cross the line.

Carry me on, carry me through. 
I found my own feet; I know what to do. 
The dark rolls back, the far signs run. 
I left there in pieces; I'm here as one. 

Carry me on, carry me free. 
There's room in the morning for someone like me.

Easy now, the station doors are breathing. 
Cool air moves through the cuffs of my coat. 
I taste the salt from the sea beyond the platform 
And stand where the first gulls wheel and float.

Carry me on, carry me through. 
The sun finds the rails, and the sky turns blue. 
The dark rolls back; the long night is done. 
I left there in pieces, arriving as one. 
Carry me on, carry me free. 

There's room in the morning. 
There's room for me.

One brown suitcase, one ticket saved. 
A quiet breath, a life reclaimed.

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Instrumental composition is available here:

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