The Cord Still Wound

[Verse 1]
You tied a thread beneath my ribs
So fine I called it air
It tugged whenever you went quiet
I felt you everywhere

[Pre-Chorus]
Your pulse pulled mine through paper walls
A living line beneath the skin
I held you up; you held me down
And neither knew where we began

[Chorus]
I love you with the cord still wound
A tender knot, a tightening sound
If I cut free, you bleed with me
If I stay bound, I cannot breathe
I want you whole, I want me too
What does a clean cut make of you?

[Verse 2]
We fed it every swallowed word
It thickened, warm and red
A soft anatomy of need
That grew between our beds
You smiled; the tether cinched again
I smiled so you would stay
The hurt was proof we mattered
Until it took the day

[Pre-Chorus]
Your pulse pulled mine through paper walls
A living line beneath the skin
I held you up; you held me down
And neither knew where we began

[Chorus]
I love you with the cord still wound
A tender knot, a tightening sound
If I cut free, you bleed with me
If I stay bound, I cannot breathe
I want you whole, I want me too
What does a clean cut make of you?

[Bridge]
Look at me—this isn’t all your fault
Look at me—I’m not your only ground
One hand shaking, one hand on the blade
One small mercy neither of us made
I’ll take the wound; you take the air
We can grieve the thread and still be there

[Final Chorus]
I loved you with the cord still wound
A tender knot, a tightening sound
I cut us loose; we both still bleed
But now there’s room for either need
I want you whole, I want me too
The scar can hold what love once knew

[Outro]
The line is gone
The ache is real
Your hand is yours
My heart can heal