Can You Recognize the Influence

"The Uniquely Stolen Parts of the Best Songs I Know and Can Play"

Laura, when you came over
To spill the truth about you and I
I couldn't help in not believing
The rhyme to your reason
Because, Laura, it's the ones with the broken hearts
Who've done all the talking
Laura, if you'd just take the time
To set aside for a session of active listening
You'd soon begin to realize
I'm the one here for the long-haul
I don't want to be the boy
To break your heart
I want to be the man you can count on
Even in your sleep
So Laura, if you know me at all
You'd take my hand in your hand
As a gesture of my anticipation to participate
In this thing once called love
By all the believers
Oh Laura, how'd you come to be a non-believer among the greatest of crowds

For it is in giving of ourselves
That we taketh a little piece of heaven
As we die in the arms of the one who claimed to love us this whole time
But when left to decide
The truth being such that
She'd spit venom in your eyes to shield you from her planned escape
Down the staircase in your apartment
To the boulevard holding her own name on the sign
She walks along the edge of where
The sidewalk meets the street
As if to flirt with disaster
If a car should come by and sweep her off her feet
But...no cars go

Laura, did you know
That a rose is most beautiful
The seconds leading up to its death
A wilting of the will to live
Why would I mention such a tragic affair
In an open love letter
Except to suggest
That our hallway conversation
Was a pre-emptive strike
Against the death of what was
To never have to face
What will become of our love, Laura
You're such a scared little bird
Perched on the edge of your well-built nest
Looking at such beautiful, great heights
Afraid to take the plunge and dive off the ledge
For fear that your wings are still wet
But Laura, I'm here to help guide you
Laura, I'll be your co-pilot
Laura, I'll be your private Poet Laureate
The one to speak when no words reach your tongue
The one to touch when your fingers seem stiff
The one to love when your heart won't let another in
You'll see, Laura,
I'll be the mattress for which you lay upon to sleep
More appropriately, I'll be the pillow to rest your head
So darling, please, just rest your head, on me

Laura, do you feel the rain
Beating on our backs
Like a drum
You history has a past
My past is our future-present tense
In which I lean across the bed
Kiss your eyelids to awaken you
Smile at your beautiful smile
Say "good morning" and
Laura, I know it's going to be a beautiful day
Just from the words you say...

"As I continue to walk through great lengths
With you by my side
Nowhere else I'd rather hide
Than with you in my bed, beside me, clutching my insides"

Laura, it's the ones who can't say, "I love you"
Who end up alone, in a twin-sized bed
Fit for a queen and her king
Yet only jesters shall apply

And you, Laura, were so closed off to another
Will only end up the loneliest, only member
Of the members-only, lonely hearts club
How's it feel, Laura, to meet your own status quo
A social outcast to love