Graduation Song forMia

[Verse]
The child with ink on her palms
Asked the clouds why they drifted so far
Beneath the dust of the ceiling fan
I built a kingdom from Mason jars
The living room floor was a map of the stars
With vinegar flowing through clay volcanoes
Chasing the reason for the silver in the moon
And the way the garden indigo grows

[Pre-Chorus]
The questions never found a place to rest
They tangled in the wires of my mind
Searching for the pulse beneath the chest
Of every mystery I could find

[Chorus]
Now the velvet gown is heavy on my frame
And the ink is dry beside my name
I climbed the hills of paper and glass
Watching the shadows of the seasons pass
From the girl who turned the rug into a lab
To the woman reaching for the golden tab
The world is wide and the gates are open
With every silent promise finally spoken

[Verse]
The library clock was my only friend
In the hollow hours of the deep July
I traded the sleep for the heavy books
Under the flicker of a fluorescent sky
Years of grit in the marrow of my bones
Turning the pages until my fingers went numb
Building a bridge out of tired eyes
To see what I could eventually become

[Pre-Chorus]
The questions led me to this wooden floor
Away from the girl I used to be
Now I am knocking on a different door
With the iron weight of a pedigree

[Chorus]
Now the velvet gown is heavy on my frame
And the ink is dry beside my name
I climbed the hills of paper and glass
Watching the shadows of the seasons pass
From the girl who turned the rug into a lab
To the woman reaching for the golden tab
The world is wide and the gates are open
With every silent promise finally spoken

[Chorus]
The faces in the crowd are glowing bright
My kin are weeping in the morning light
I hold the scroll like a captured spark
A steady flame against the coming dark
I am the curious spark turned into a fire
Forged in the heat of a long desire
The map is blank and the path is clear
I have left behind the ghost of every fear

[Chorus]
Across the stage I hear the heavy beat
Of a thousand futures beneath my feet
The science lab is a distant dream
But I am still the pilot of the stream
The world is waiting for the things I know
I have the seeds and the room to grow
The velvet gown is heavy on my frame
And the wind is calling out my name