Castle Of Paper & House Of Cards

You made yourself a castle of paper
Folded out of hopes and thoughts
Every tower impossibly delicate
Every door closing at your command
A swirling castle
Made of paper
By your hand

I made myself a house of cards
That sways unsteadily in the wind
And sometimes falls
I rebuild it every time
I built it out of wishes and stars
For every wish I fail to fulfill
The cards fall down
And I restart

There's hills and valleys between us
They are made of papercuts and stamps
I can see them when I balance carefully
On the highest cards of my deck
And sometimes the knight lends me binoculars
Sometimes when the mist clears
I can see the writing on your pages
Sometimes

The ink hadn't dried when you built your fortress
You built it on sore print that became indistinguishable
You built it fast so that no one would be able to read the letters
And you built it high so that no one would be able to climb
You were careless and blind
Your paper doesn't obey you
It secretly rebels
To overthrow you

I never said I was more loyal to my cards
Than you were with your typewriter pages
I never said they speak to me
Anymore than yours speak to you
But I hear the whispers of your house
I hear it carried on the wind
Like a paper plane

I will not take part of or fuel what's there
You already laid out the perfect foundation yourself
It saddens me to see, from my red and black tree
It saddens me to watch your descent
Into denial and addiction
Into fire
Into fire

I wonder if it looks the same to you
If you glance my way on a clear day
If you ever wear those old binoculars
Do you see the same deceit in store for me
Do you see my house of cards
Overthrowing me

I believe you are the one who will fall
After all I have fallen many times before
And I have taught myself how to land
And pick myself up from the ground
You on the other hand never really fell
You spent all your life living on the ground
Until you left, to aim for the stars

I hope you find what you're looking for
That they'll reel down a ladder from the sky
And reward you for all your thoughts and hopes
While I'll fade away in my house of cards
Waving off unfulfilled wishes
As they disappear
Into the mist