The Bookmark Dare

[Verse 1]
You wrote “Once upon” in the margin of a receipt
A little blue morning, a door in the heat
Every first sentence had somewhere to go
But you kept them all open, afraid to say so

[Pre-Chorus]
The bookmark waits like a dare in your hand
One page ahead, a whole other land

[Chorus]
Turn it, turn it—wait, not yet
One good beginning I can’t forget
Page goes over, worlds go still
I want every ending, I want the thrill
Turn it, turn it—hold that place
A hundred first chapters, none to erase

[Verse 2]
There’s a king with a teacup, a fox in a suit
A sea made of stairs and a talking old boot
Each one says, “Stay, there’s more you could see”
And the next little chapter keeps calling to me

[Pre-Chorus]
The bookmark slips, the paper bends
How many beginnings can one heart defend?

[Chorus]
Turn it, turn it—wait, not yet
One good beginning I can’t forget
Page goes over, worlds go still
I want every ending, I want the thrill
Turn it, turn it—hold that place
A hundred first chapters, none to erase

[Bridge]
Maybe a story is not what we save
Maybe it grows when we give it a page
Some doors close gently; some worlds remain
In the shape of a sentence we dared to explain

[Final Chorus]
Turn it, turn it—here we go
Let one small story become what it knows
Page goes over, the others stay
Folded like maps for another day
Turn it, turn it—make it real
I can’t live every beginning I feel

[Outro]
The bookmark rests; the ink runs on
One page behind, one page beyond