Back then I drew like a match in the rain

Swore every page was a name I could claim

Now the light won’t sit where I thought it would stay

Edges too sharp, sky cut away

Too many “yes”es, all out of tune

Like three choruses fighting one room

I pull one line, it stutters, it breathes

And there you are between the greys

Not wrong—just bright

Not lost—just time

Off the grid, off the grid

Still it shines, still it hits

Pieces never learned to blend

But the feeling holds again

Off the grid, off the grid

Warmth in the off-beat tick

Can’t frame it—so I keep it

Brave bright color I refused to hush

Sunrise taped to midnight with a thumb-smudge

I wrote “this is me” in the margin—fast

Now I see the seam in the paste

My eyes got sharp with time

Still my heart leans back where it’s at

Same paper, heavier now

Same hand, softer vow

I let it glow

The way it goes

Off the grid, off the grid

Still it shines, still it hits

Pieces never learned to blend

But the feeling holds again

Off the grid, off the grid

Warmth in the off-beat tick

Can’t frame it—so I keep it

Dust on the spine, graphite on my sleeve

I don’t fix a thing—I just let it breathe

A crooked little universe, warm and small

Still mine, after all

Off the grid, off the grid

Still it shines, still it hits

Every flaw, a flare

From that fearless kid

Off the grid, off the grid

One whole feeling, stitched and lit

Won’t make it all align—

but I’m glad it’s still mine

Off the grid…

Still mine.