Long and the Short of It

Well it's taken me some time to become a decent man,
it's a castle I've been building all my life.
Each little stone, it stands for something
and I’ve placed them with these hands,
one by one, until the pieces fit just right.
Well these walls, they grew taller and they grew stronger around her.
Her tapestries became embedded in the stone.
With her came everything that had been missing,
from each flower to the throne.
Now the castle resembled the makings of a kingdom.
Well I've grown bolder, true, richer in the soil.
You make me a better person and I must know.
Would you let me be your everything, be young lovers grown old?
I'd put you in a house with a front porch, a place for a family to grow.
Could you be the first thing that I see in the morning,
be the sun shining through the window?
Well, the long and the short of it was no.
Empty vases lie in boxes next to neatly folded gowns.
All the colors that once brought beauty now are stains.
I look to the stones for answers and I'm inspecting each and all,
to scrutinize what's missing, or out of place.
There are times that I dwell, feel like I'm just a pile of rocks.
At times I refuse to forget the way you taste.
Now I look for a dawn when I can lower my drawbridge down,
invite back the world, rid of your embrace.
We both grew bolder, more true, and richer in the soil.
You've made me a better person. I had to know.
Would you let me be your everything, be young lovers grown old?
I'd put you in a house with a front porch, a place for a family to grow.
Could you be the first thing that I see in the morning,
be the sun shining through the window.
Well, the long and the short of it was no.