Skin

The trees wear their scars on the outside
but we keep ours under our shirts.
You've got my tongue in your teeth now
as I show you where it hurts.

And your words leave me naked
as into the river you dive,
and I begin to remember
what it feels like to be alive.

Swing me between the branches
Then fold me into your chest.
Off road and upstream, and then
back home riverside west.

And your words leave me wanting
as into the distance you drive.
At least now I remember
what it feels like to be alive.

River boys run,
city boys swim,
and English boys keep all their love on the inside.
So show me your shame
and show me your skin,
but remember to keep all your love on the inside.

The trees keep their coats til November
but we are July and bare arms.
Leaving our clothes in the long grass,
we disable all our alarms.

Shoulder deep, we are breathless
as into each other we stare.
I can see you,
I can see you,
I can see you.

River boys run,
city boys swim,
and English boys keep all their love on the inside.
So show me your shame
and show me your skin,
but remember to keep all your love on the inside.

In the water return to wherever we began.
In the cotton we become one another.
Ever so slowly we unlearn what it is to be a man,
with skin on skin on skin.

Your words just a recall
as I see the rainfall arrive.
I no longer remember
what it feels like to be alive.
I've already forgotten
what it felt like to be alive.