One River Under the Skin

[Verse 1]
You let me hear the small clock under your ribs
I laid my ear there; mine answered from within
A fine red seam crossed the bedsheets by dawn
One pulse went north, one pulse carried on
Your blood found my hands like it knew the way
My blood learned your name and refused to stray

[Pre-Chorus]
We laughed when the monitor counted us wrong
Two separate heartbeats, one current strong
Then the surgeon said, “There’s no clean divide”
And I felt your fear move alive inside mine

[Chorus]
We share one river under the skin
Two hearts still racing, both pulling us in
Hold me together; I’m terrified, glad
The sweetest ache is the life that we have
If they draw the line, if they pull us apart
The blood goes quiet in both of our hearts

[Verse 2]
You steal the warm blanket; I steal it back
We bicker at breakfast, then share the same glass
Your fingers go cold when my fever climbs
I taste your salt before you say you’re not fine
Some nights I resent every borrowed breath
Then you squeeze my hand, and I choose it again

[Pre-Chorus]
No neat little answer, no painless repair
Just your pulse in my wrist and my pulse in your care
We know what it costs; we know what we chose
A knot made of vessels that nobody knows

[Chorus]
We share one river under the skin
Two hearts still racing, both pulling us in
Hold me together; I’m terrified, glad
The sweetest ache is the life that we have
If they draw the line, if they pull us apart
The blood goes quiet in both of our hearts

[Bridge]
When your heart runs ahead, mine answers late
When mine stumbles, yours keeps the gate
I hate how the tether can hurt when it pulls
I love how your hand finds mine through it all
No saint, no cure, no clean way through
Just this strange red promise: I live with you

[Final Chorus]
We share one river under the skin
Two hearts still racing, still pulling us in
Hold me together; I’m terrified, glad
The hardest, kindest life I ever had
If they draw the line, if they pull us apart
The blood goes quiet in both of our hearts
So stay through the shaking, stay through the scar
Two separate rhythms, one place where we are

[Outro]
Your pulse in my wrist
My pulse in your hand
Two hearts, one current
Still here, still we stand