THE DEATH OF AN AUTHOR

written around 2021-08-11

sam: an author’s note for this might be too many layers, start the song

All of my sentences started with ‘I’
Don’t think I was ever really writing about you
As hard as I tried
I don’t think I wanted to
	



Inciting incidents started to look the same
A parking lot, a fourth suspended chord
A hero’s journey forced on the mundane

Active ingredients diluted for the taste
Made Lancelot a manic pixie girl
But kept the camera focused on me




I can’t keep running out of things to say
I can’t keep running out of things to say
	



Ever-referential
Never quite the truth
Leveraged memorial
I’ll sever life with you
Into a song for someone else to hear
I’ll serenade them with it after a year has passed
Okay?




All of my sentences got too defensive and I
Don’t think I was ever saying sorry towards you
As much as I tried
I don't think I wanted to

Terribly scared of it, questions of fairness aside
I laid down the death of an author before you
Though in writing the lines
Maybe I’ve made it impossible




I guess I’m running out of things to say
I guess I’m saying ‘I guess’ to pre-empt the taint of cliché
I guess I’m running out of rhymes for ‘say’

I guess I could stop writing




Ever-referential
Never quite the truth
Leveraged memorial
I’ll sever life with you
Into a song for someone else to hear
I’ll serenade them with it after a year has passed

Cleverly-composed in all
Flog the corpse anew
Never need to close it off
Reprise reprised, part two
As if a song could keep my lips to your ear
I don’t suppose that I’ll be seeing much of you here on out