You gave me language as a gift, I turned it against you I was stupid, I was young, I was hanged by my Judas tongue You shouldn't give weapons to kids that don't know better I can't possibly understand that there's no such thing as forever For every letter in the alphabet You said connect 'em to a happy word, no matter how bad things get I did my best, but the pickings got slim Once I arrived at "X" and I had to think of synonyms Weight 'em against the antonyms, I was hanging with all the mannequins Who are on a constant search for a person's amputated limbs Almost offered up my own, trading in my arms and legs You said learn to express yourself if you're gonna stand for things I stood up with that expression, stood up against everything including you I was stupid, I was adolescent, but I had your lessons to cling on to And I want you to know how much it helped Considering everything that I'd gone through It was a period without periods, run on sentences were like binges I was a comma with no cause, a rebel with no clause Anxiety is no excuse once there's nothing left to separate We could have connected, but didn't I was ignorant, passed out on the spacebar The further we drifted apart the closer I came to realizing just how amazing you are Now that you're gone I'mma say it to the stars 'Till my words knock worlds off their axes and the universe collapses Thank you for the matches, for the gift of fire For the wood and the axe, for whooping my ass For the wheel even if you didn't invent it For the impact that you had on me, it's epic, thank you for the effort For teaching me the ABC's even if I never make my way to "Z" Even if I never do for someone else exactly what you did for me Thank you I was a stupid son of a gun with initials carved into me I was a stray, a runaway, afraid someday you'd shoot me So I scratched off the letters with a pocket knife It's how I loss my way when I was tossed into the fray This is not my life, who am I kidding, it's a thank you note Disguised as a written apology for everything you taught to me So awkwardly I approach the open microphone with everything that I wrote Clear my throat, adjust the collar on my coat As I rock crowds, microphones and boats and then I stroke Whatever little ego I have left, I should have left it at the alter But I didn't cause I'm an idiot, self-deprecating author With a paperback edition that isn't worth a flip through If I don't give you the credit that you deserve You edited the words from the grave and beyond From the first sign of sun raise at dawn Till the moonbeam set blaze to my lawn The universe collapses on my front steps So we get to share in that moment, for just one moment And nobody's upset, there's no more anger, there's no more sunsets So I crawl back in the chamber, you can shoot me up You might as well, we had great communication before the tower fell Thank you for the matches, for the gift of fire For the wood and the axe, for whooping my ass For the wheel even if you didn't invent it For the impact that you had on me, it's epic, thank you for the effort For teaching me the ABC's even if I never make my way to "Z" Even if I never do for someone else exactly what you did for me Thank you I'mma do my best, while you rest in peace