The Last Question
The fear under all of it: if I stopped being useful, would she still choose me? I had to ask it out loud, even though I was afraid of the answer.
The war is done, the treaties signed
The rubble of our former life
Is cataloged and understood
The broken, and the brave, and good
We've named the ghosts, we've owned the crimes
A thousand painful, honest times
But there's a final, darker fear
The one last truth I need to hear
So I hold my breath and look at you
And ask the thing I'm scared to do
If I weren't the anchor, weren't the shield
If I had no more strength to wield
If I weren't the money, weren't the fix
Just a sad and broken pile of bricks
After the king and crown were gone
Would you still be here at the dawn?
The silence hangs, a heavy shroud
The quiet after being loud
I see the story in your eyes
Of all the truths and all the lies
And all your facts and all of mine
The tangled and imperfect vine
That's grown around our broken wall
And I am ready for the fall
But I hold my breath and look at you
And ask the thing I had to do
If I weren't the anchor, weren't the shield
If I had no more strength to wield
If I weren't the money, weren't the fix
Just a sad and broken pile of bricks
After the king and crown were gone
Would you still be here at the dawn?
And you look at me, and take a breath
And tell the truth, and conquer death
You say, it's always been that way
I would have left, if I didn't want to stay