The Crane Wives
Never Love an Anchor
On some level I think I always understood
That these hands of mine were clumsy, not clever
And I tried to do the best that I could
But try as I might I couldn't bring myself to hold you
It’s a secret I keep tucked inside my chest
With this heart of mine that's guilty not remorseful
There is love that doesn't have a place to rest
But it would have buried you if it had settled on your shoulders
On some level I think I always understood
That a ship could never really love an anchor
So, I did the only thing that I could
And severed the rope to set you sailing from my harbor
There are times when I still wonder about you
You are someone I have loved but never known
And you’ll never see the reasons I had
For keeping my claws away when they were close enough to hurt you
I am selfish, I am broken, I am cruel
I am all the things they might have said to you
Do you ever think of me and my two hands
And wonder why they never soothed your fevers
And wonder why they never tied your shoes
And wonder why they never held you gently
And wonder why they never had the chance to lose you?