Joanna Newsom — Does Not Suffice

i will pack all my pretty dresses
i will box up my high-heeled shoes
a sparkling ring for every finger
i'll put away and hide from view

coats of bouclé, jacquard and cashmere
cartouche and tweed, all silver-shot
and everything that could remind you
of how easy i was not

i'll tuck away my gilded buttons
i'll bind my silks in shapeless bales
wrap it all up in reams of tissue
and then i'll kiss you, sweet, farewell

you saw me rise to our occasion
and so deny the evidence
'caused me to burn and twist
and grimace against you,
like something caught on a barbed wire fence

now, you can see me fall back here redoubled,
full bewildered and amazed
i have gotten into some terrible trouble
beneath your blank and rinsing gaze

it does not suffice,
for you to say I am a sweet girl
or to say you hate to see me sad because of you
it does not suffice,
to merely lie beside each other
as those who love each other do

i picture you rising up in the morning
stretching out on your boundless bed
beating a clear path to the shower
scouring yourself red

the tap of hangers swaying in the closet
unburdened hooks and empty drawers
and everywhere i tried to love you
is yours again and only yours