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Key

by Laura Peek

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1.
Oh, Mary I couldn't make it So many blocks to your door I was stuck uptown on business 'Till at least four They called it "a touch of the horrors" Well, it's more fitting than they could know There's more the paper's can't show You ran to the water Long before I could get to you I've stayed away from the harbour But I can't forget that it's there No way of missing the ocean With this salty air You ran out of patience Long before we could talk it through
2.
Stay Sharp 02:47
Any day it could be too late to say Anything kind to all of the people Drifting through her Mind the way she believes the world will stay Just as it is as long as she needs it To stay constant But it's so hard to remember How to stay awake She should write out a letter Stay sharp for your sake She's aware such reminders aren't fair They point away to the future Not the present Time won't care if she can't see what is there Thinking too much yet not understanding What should matter And it's so hard to remember How to stay awake She should write out a letter Stay sharp for your sake And tie a string around all your fingers Life can only end You just don't know when
3.
You said no doctor could understand To tell the truth, you were right 'Cause they can't explain it with all of their lights Some childhood mishap brought to the fore A coincidence, nothing more But I sure hope this means something Why else would you leave it with me And what's a symbol for a song no one recalls? Maybe it's nothing at all I did some research into the code Nothing was clear The ending of an empire, faded through the years? More like a memory guide destined to fail When instructions get lost in the mail Have I lost the mystery You wanted to pass on to me The slight suggestion that there could be something more Now, I won't know what it's for
4.
Laundry 03:06
Since they asked me I'll turn all of these towels into squares They look past me At the men who sit solidly stuck to their chairs But I had a purpose so honest and true Though it seemed at the time there was too much to do All the hours leading up to an ending I thought I'd want He knocks over Stacks of linen so carefully made White like Dover Can't he see I was there too, and how I was paid for it No one tells you an arm's no excuse When you're somebody's wife, you'll have to get used to The same routines as another Making a home I don't know how I expect things to be But I wish they would recognize that this is me Folding laundry with one arm missing
5.
Grown Up 02:45
Who could guess that mirrors Still would have this effect on you? You fall into old habits so fast When there's a glass review The jingle rings out the same Now with reverb It could play for hours And then leave you with the drain When will you figure it out You still belong here They must think you're funny 'Cause you do so well in school It's true you'd make a fine acquaintance You understand the rule There's no way of making them care What you're up to, dear You could wait forever And they'd hardly see you there Looks like one chance to prove That you're all grown up Professional people Listening to you Take a look around you Take a look, maybe, at the year With all your big or tiny failures You've got a real career Nobody can see it but you Why be wasteful? Look back when you're eighty: There was never one debut When will you figure it out You still belong here
6.
Violet 03:06
Didn't seem to make a lot of friends Waiting in your room, combing out your hair Then you forgot our names; you could barely see us there And we tried not to think of it Hey Violet, What a shame we knew you so little Could have held our hearts We could have been close instead of near You existed as something of a riddle Flying off the charts Less and less yourself with every year Evidently, things were going fine If we can believe what the pictures say Typical afternoons sitting out on sunny days What was really going on? Hey Violet, What a shame we knew you so little Could have held our hearts We could have been close instead of near You existed as something of a riddle Flying off the charts Less and less yourself with every year It's so strange to think of you that age Worried about men, worried for yourself What kind of life you'd lead, what kind of hand you'd be dealt There were possibilities then What a shame we knew you so little What a wasted part Violet sometimes I wish you were here
7.
If You Call 02:21
If we were in a novel, we would know what to say Polite and demure but still so sure We'd always feel this way A bedrock-solid sense we could obey But all the flags are flying for another one's name And we can't pretend that they might bend To fit inside our frame It's such a futile image to proclaim It amounts to Maybe this, possibly like that If we only knew It's the circle game in a different hat And it's holding out its hands to you What if you don't look back? Look up, the door stands open to a rise or a fall The future's a blur, we both concur We can't see it at all I only know I'll answer if you call I only know I'll answer if you call
8.
Artifacts 02:41
Was this house built to be inhabited by objects? Artifacts but no one home And we speculate what happened Though we'll never know The honest facts with only bones Following the most Inanimate ghosts On every surface, there are marked uncertain histories Did he touch this, did she stare? Special occasions stuffed in closets Touched only by air She made this dress for her to wear Following the most Inanimate ghosts I hold the documents, but nothing of their meanings Can't explain without you here There's no accounting for the finders Things you once held dear Get changed until a story's clear Following the most Inanimate ghosts Inanimate ghosts Follow me the most
9.
Go Slow 03:42
When you got married You made a plan A steady job, a home, some kids A whole lifespan to go There would be problems But that was fine You both were wise and kind Together you'd get by the cracks 'Cause you'd spot them all in time We can't figure out what it is you need to do Time must sure go slow for you All of a sudden You'd lost the code Where figures marched on steady paths Now they implode away And we can't understand what it is you need to do Time must sure go slow for you When no one answers Well, you can't plan for A double blow Forced to complete too early on Then forced to slow right down And lose the things you used to know We can't figure out what it is you need to do Time must sure go slow for you
10.
On the Shelf 02:14
The moment I saw you I had to bring you home No one else could adore you for beauty alone You're too good for them, perhaps too good for me Still I dream of the things we'll make together You bought us to knit up an armor for your heart Saw coils of potential in bright coloured parts You'll always be two steps away from what you want If you look to us to fill the hole that's showing I can't bear to see you just sitting on the shelf Reminder of failures I keep for myself I'll neither use you nor give you away I still dream of the things we'll make together You're wasting your time and you're squandering your care Don't matter to us if you hoard or you share We'll either live here or we'll live somewhere else Maybe you should think instead of where you're going

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released February 8, 2011

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Laura Peek Halifax, Nova Scotia

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