Boxes of photographs and little scraps of paper,
Lyrics and letters scribbled onto tattered pages.
All these moments captured in a flash,
Split seconds that have only a fraction of the mass.

Taken at a time when it must’ve felt right to make a memory
That would become a relic.
You know our memory is edited with every recollection,
It changes but we never quite forget it.

The smiling faces in a silent stasis
Locked inside a frame, a million miles away.
Another time and place
So I could fly for days and never find them,
Sailing through the sky aflame.

I'd write these pages as a child
And lay awake at night, debating if they're right,
Now I see my life in layers, coiled tight
Like tapes I used to hire, no way I can rewind them.

I see family bonds we thought would never buckle,
Now their names are barely ever uttered.
I see lovers that were never lovers
And many others,
Friends who were like brothers,
There's how I met your mother.

Buried under letters ending with the “Yours truly”
‘Cos you're the only thing that’s yours, truly.
See, reality is magic but these metaphors move me,
Tried to pen a message with that "Cellar-door" beauty,

Forevermore those lyrics will be unheard,
Now I'm unnerved, seeing images become blurred.
Looking at the pictures of the people that we once were,
Thinking if I could travel back and tell them one word

Would it be “Love”? Would it be “Make”?
Would it be “Run”? Would it be “Wait”?
Would it be “Luck”?
In a way this whole thing is a betrayal of their trust
‘Cos we can see them
But they can't see us.

Brittle in my hands, I'm gentle with the touch.
Slide my finger through a layer of the dust.
I'm not that person but I was him once,
We can see them but they can't see us.

Little me trying to look so tough,
Showing off when he should’ve shown love.
Now the jokes on him ‘cos I'm all grown up,
We can see them but they can't see us.

Put together a puzzle of pieces from way back when,
I just want to make peace and amends.
Atone for my sins, take ownership and win,
Leaves blowing in the wind just blame it on the breeze again.

We pretend that this dream won't end
Until they're playing Let It Be while we sleep,
In front of all our family and friends…
They can see us but we can't see them.

We took our buddy Peter to a little beach
On the east coast of the island he loved so,
Tipped the clay pot into the tide between the fishing boats,
Saw his ashes riding on the ebb and flow.

They didn't seem like the person that he once was,
We did the same for my Nanna at the duck pond.
In the end, you've got to give it all away ‘cos
Anything that isn't given away becomes lost.

Vines cover concrete, metal always rusts.
No ifs, no buts.
Put the ashes to the ashes and the dust to the dust,
We can see them but they can't see us.

Sometimes life is too much
But when it's over it was never enough.
Heart so heavy I can feel it in my gut,
We can see them but they can't see us.

Floating on these two wings
Through an old house,
Full of new things
That I don't know about.
I see my daughter fully grown now,
Feel a swelling in my chest ‘cos I'm so proud.

I try to call out,
She turns around like she heard a sound,
The puzzled frown fades from her brow,
She sighs deeply…
I can see her but she can't see me.