Story: The Muddy Lake
Verse 1
I loved the way you knew me
before I spoke my name
I loved the way your eyes returned
the person I became
I loved the hand across the bed
the jokes we always knew
and every time I said, “My love,”
I meant the story too
Then something broke the mirror
and changed the face I knew
your words became like missing roads
I could not follow through
I searched inside your silence
for the one who used to wake
and every frightened question
stirred the bottom of the lake
Chorus
Let the muddy water settle
let the silt fall where it may
love is not the perfect feeling
we are frightened we must make
the bottom has not vanished
when the water hides the view
love may still be underneath
the story I called you
Let it settle
let it ache
there is something clear beneath
the muddy lake
Verse 2
I loved the way you showed me
I was chosen, I was known
I built a little home inside
the gaze you turned my way
then you forgot the doorway
and the promises we made
and I could not find my own face
when your memory began to fade
I thought the love had left us
because warmth did not appear
because anger filled the kitchen
and the future filled with fear
but care still moved between us
in the medicine I’d shake
while grief and tired resentment
clouded everything like a lake
Chorus
Let the muddy water settle
let the silt fall where it may
love is not the perfect feeling
we are frightened we must make
the bottom has not vanished
when the water hides the view
love may still be underneath
the story I called you
Let it settle
let it ache
there is something clear beneath
the muddy lake
Bridge
I reached into the water
to make the water clear
I tried to force forgiveness
I tried to conquer fear
I tried to be the loving one
the patient, gentle wife
and every hand that stirred the mud
made darker water rise
Then one morning with a jar
you struggled in the light
no husband from my memory
no future wrong or right
just breath and hand and effort
just anger, glass, and ache
and tenderness appeared alone
when I stopped stirring the lake
Verse 3
Your hand came through the darkness
and rested on my skin
I thought the old love found me
and everything rushed in
then you spoke another’s name
and the lovely story broke
but warmth remained beneath my hand
without a word being spoke
No proof that you remembered
no promise you would stay
no mirror showing who I was
no debt I had to pay
only one hand holding one hand
while both of us lay awake
and something clear was shining
at the bottom of the lake
Final Chorus
Let the muddy water settle
let the silt fall where it may
love is not the perfect feeling
we are frightened we must make
the bottom has not vanished
when the water hides the view
love may still be underneath
every story I called you
Let it settle
let it ache
nothing needs to manufacture
the bottom of the lake
Outro
The story may be broken
the mirror may be gone
the person I remember
may not be travelling on
But underneath the questions
under fear and old heartbreak
love does not need creating
at the bottom
of the lake
