The Hinge and the Gill

[Verse 1]
In the glasswork tide, a fin grows into a hand
A jaw keeps yesterday’s map, but learns the silted land
You call them almost-somethings, misshapen, out of place
They thread the warming current with tomorrow in their face

[Pre-Chorus]
I know the crooked blueprint, every seam I tried to hide
But the water keeps on changing; there is room on every side

[Chorus]
I am the hinge, I am the gill
Half of the old world, learning the still
Turn—then breathe—through the shifting blue
Every strange piece carries me through
I won’t be finished to be whole
I’ll take my odd shape toward the unknown

[Verse 2]
A lantern-boned small swimmer keeps one foot upon the stone
Its awkward little balance makes a kingdom of its own
The tank’s cracked open at the edge; the tide is coming in
What looked like a flaw in the making is where the future gets in

[Bridge]
Let the current redraw me
Let the salt rearrange
I can carry what made me
And still welcome the change

[Final Chorus]
I am the hinge, I am the gill
Half of the old world, learning the still
Turn—then breathe—through the shifting blue
Every strange piece carries me through
I won’t be finished to be whole
I’ll take my odd shape toward the unknown

[Outro]
Not complete, not out of time
A new shore fits this shape of mine