The Fault Lies

I can feel the coming winter Pressing heavy on my chest The last of autumn’s leaves Settle down to join the rest Phone lines carry voices The north wind carries snow Across the lonesome miles Where both wind and whispers blow This talking got us nowhere Like two pins in some old map Marking places we used to be Before we blew off track A little south of happy And just a little north of broke Everywhere we’re going Are words we’ve already spoke Why are we talking backwards Like we’re speaking from the grave Clinging to each other Like two souls who can’t be saved Band-aids for bullet wounds And cures for a broken heart The plaster that keeps it together Is the fiction that pulls it apart It’s so quiet ‘round the house Even the ghosts have lost their nerve It’s better than I hoped for And no less than I deserve It’s hard to say you’re sorry When that’s not what you are The fault it lies in us, my dear Not in our crossed stars Not in our crossed stars