Derek Ouyang

I want to be a machine
So that I can fall in Love again
I want to sleep with Grace
And stroke Beauty with the tips of my fingers
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You sit in those pews
And listen to the silence
And stare up at the ceiling
Convincing yourself you're
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We are having a yard sale today.
Hold the door open for me, Mother says
As she carries a box out onto the driveway
And the cats scramble out for fresh air
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It's been so long since I've been home
This loneliness is worse
But I've developed secret powers
To cope with my remorse
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If words could kill, I'd kill you at once
I'd put pen like stake to your heart
I'd write you dead so I could write you
Alive again, and ask you how it felt
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Where the rolling foothills rise up toward mountains higher
I walked into the crater of the Earth, encircled by a ring of fire
I could see to the west, the Sun setting from yellow sky to blue horizon, chasing his hopeful dreams
And to the east, the Moon rising from green peaks to pink grace, humming her peaceful song
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A chasm missing one side becomes a cliff
And likewise you have left me at the edge
Staring into nothingness and nothingnessness
The space between us was a sacred bridge
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Soaring over the world tonight I can see
This city is one big Christmas tree
Each streetlight a twinkling star
Each headlight merrily searching afar
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The clock ticks relentlessly
But our hearts beat faster!
Who is Time to think he can outrace us now?
God give me speed, but let me take the wheel
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We rewrite our lives in our favorite music.
We let moving lyrics resonate in our hearts
And then we replace them with our own words,
So that in time, these songs become the pages
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Everything I hold dear to me is like a pendulum from infinity
They're all around me, pointing away, strings in tension
I'm stuck in the middle clinging to the weights of my life
But all I need is a moment's carelessness, and just like that
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We floated on cloudtops
Throwing sugarcubes in the puddles beneath our naked feet
The splashes made ribbons of color which fell to the people below
Who consequently fell in love
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If I sat here and mused until the end of time
Would it make any difference to the world?
If I sat here and thought infinite thoughts
Would there not still be infinitely more?
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Crowded subway train, iron wheels thunder
On windowpanes, people's reflections, I wonder
Why does only my own face seem to be alive?
Why do the pupils of their eyes betray any mind?
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Green pearls glowing in the yellow light
Dance and sway like leaves in your hair
Vanilla ice cream caressing my tongue
Tastes like morning dew upon your skin
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Come, my friends, the night is young!
Gather around this immortal flame,
Sing a chorus, pass the cup around!
In the cup is a bittersweet liquid
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I am the skyline
As far as your eyes can see
Hold me
In your arms, from your distant vantage point
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