Paw Prints Beyond the Moon

Jordan's got a dream, yeah, he's reaching for the stars
Saving up his nickels at the local car wash
He's a Labrador retriever with ears so floppy and long
He knows what he was born to do, he's known it all along

Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Bringing them home, bringing them home)
Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Through the great unknown, through the great unknown)

He took the space elevator down in Ecuador one day
Rode it up to Deep Sky Anchor, bought a trawler, and flew away
Into the darkness, into the black
Out to the asteroid belt and back

Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Good dog, good dog!)
Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(He never stops, he never stops!)

His friends all laughed (ha ha ha ha)
They didn't understand (understand)
But now he's flying high above (so high, so high)
The richest dog in all the land!

The moons are getting thicker, every single year
A half a dozen more appear, the sky is shining clear
Jordan's out there working, fulfilling his design
Bringing back those space rocks, making the sky above Earth shine

Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Round and round he goes)
Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Everybody knows!)

He comes home for visits to his sister's house at night
Puppies on the back lawn staring at the light
Big feet, floppy ears, looking at the sky
Uncle Jordan fetched those moons way up high

Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(That's what he was born to do)
Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Good boy, through and through!)

Woof woof woof woof!
(Fetching asteroids!)
Woof woof woof woof!
(Good dog Jordan, good boy!)

Out in space, bringing them back
Trawler flying on an orbital track
Year by year, the sky gets more and more bright
Because Jordan's out there fetching asteroids tonight!

Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
Fetch, fetch, fetching asteroids
(Good dog, Jordan! Good dog!)

Standing in the spotlight, working up the crowd
Tell the jokes they want to hear, make them laugh out loud
I'm a pug, just a small dog, I know my place
But when I'm on that stage I own this space

Self-deprecating humor, then I move along
To the jokes about the cats – that's where I go wrong
Every Thursday, every Sunday, same routine
Saying things I don't believe, if you know what I mean

I'm a real stand-up guy
(But I'm lying every night)
Got them rolling in the aisles
(While I'm dying inside)

"Cats are lazy, cats can't work"
The crowd of dogs goes wild, going berserk
Tips are falling in the jar
But the truth is waiting at home in the dark

She's got emerald eyes and midnight fur
A mind that thinks in circles around me
Whiskers catching moonlight, when she purrs
She's everything they say a cat could never be
But I'm up here telling jokes
About her kind, for my career
While she's home believing in me

Saying "Topher, I don't care"
I'm a real stand-up guy
(Telling jokes I despise)
To dogs filled with hate
(So I can buy a ring and change my fate)

There's worlds between the dog I am on stage
And the dog I want to be
Between the laughter that I'm chasing
And the love that's chasing me
I'm a real stand-up guy
(Or am I just a coward in disguise?)
Counting tips and counting lies
Until I finally realize
That a minute of her attention
Is worth more than all their applause
A lifetime of her love
Is worth more than any stage beneath my paws

So here's my final joke tonight
It's got a limited appeal
No punch line, just the truth
For the first time, something real

spoken word

"Knock, knock"
"Who's there?"
"The dog who loves you"
"The dog who loves you who?"
"The dog who's done pretending
That his career matters more than you"

back to song

Now I'm a real stand-up guy
(Finally speaking true)
No more jokes at your expense
Just sincerity that was overdue

The lights came up at eleven
Music died, and I felt exposed
Only cat in a room full of dogs
Should've known, should've gone home

But I stayed to catch a glimpse of you
Brindle boxer with the floppy ears
Exuberant and free, so completely unlike me
You've got a girlfriend, cute as a teddy bear
And I'm just the goth cat no one sees

Was I following you?
Yeah, I guess I was
Watching from the edges
Just because, just because

You knew my name
(I didn't think you knew)
Three words from you and my heart exploded
Then you said, "Have you been following us?"
I froze, I couldn't speak
Yes or no, true or false

But the answer's written all over me
In the way my twitchy tail won't stop
Should've said something clever
Should've said something cool
Instead I just stammered sorry
Made myself look like a fool
Was I following you?
God, I wish I wasn't
But I can't help looking
When you're the only thing I want
You asked me to stop
(So simple, so awful)

"Leave us alone," you said, "you're not one of us"
A scramball to the head would hurt less

In the mirror, late at night
Tabby stripes and cat's gleaming eyes
Why couldn't I be a dog like you?
Why can't I just fit inside?

I outscored you on the physics test
Did that make you hate me more?
Is there anything I could have said
To make you see me as something more?

Was I following you?
Five more months till I'm free
Maybe college dogs will be kinder
Maybe college dogs will see me
Was I following you?
(Yeah, I was, and I'm done)

No more watching from the outside
No more hoping I'm the one
'Cause I'm ready for a new start
Ready to be seen
Not the only cat in the room
Just another face in between

Was I following?
Not anymore
Not anymore

Gonna be the kind of cat
Who walks her own path
Who doesn't chase, who doesn't beg
Doesn't need a dog to notice her
To know exactly what she's worth

She used to be Marge the Barge in her hockey days
Big Newfoundland on the ice, she knew her place
Smashing into players, padding keeping her safe
Till her vision went and they took it all away

Now she's standing in a leotard
A big dog watching little cats and squirrels spin
Looking like a bear among the graceful
Doesn't know how to begin

She doesn't want to prance around
She wants to fly
But her skates won't leave the ground
No matter how she tries

I tell her I can teach her how to spin, find her grace
"Give me your paw," I say, pull her on the ice
She feels ridiculous, wondering how this became her life
But I see something in her she doesn't see

Toe jumps and pirouettes, she's falling every time
Face-plants on the ice, bruises up and down her spine
"You've sold your souls for magic," she tells me from the ground
So I skate away, spinning round and round

She doesn't want to prance around
(But maybe she could fly)
If she could get her skates off the ground
(She just has to try)

Five puppies in the bleachers
Watching their mama fall
"Splat, splat!" they're laughing
But one says "You look beautiful" through it all

Practice every day, and slowly something shifts
When I throw myself into the air
She gives me the most incredible lift
Her size isn't weakness when she's throwing me so high
I spin four times, five times, and suddenly we fly

She's not built for toe jumps
But she's built for something else
When we skate together
She finally sees herself

Then one night she sees me skating with Gerard
My old partner, mirroring moves beneath the stars
She thinks she understands what's happening here
Turns to leave, and I feel my heart tear

"I understand why you'd rather skate with him," she says
Putting down her skates, walking away instead
And I'm so angry I could spit
"I've put months into training you — you're really gonna quit?"

She doesn't trust her teammate
(And that's the worst mistake)
She doesn't trust her partner
(But I won't let her break)

Next day she calls the registrar
Single skater, her first try
"Country Cat, City Cat" playing through the rink
She's spinning, she's skating, barely has time to think
She throws her weight into a jump

And for a moment there
Her skates leave the ground
She's flying through the air
I'm right there in the bleachers
Watching her refuse to quit
Watching her follow through
And prove she's worth all of it

"You're an idiot," I purr
"But you're also my partner"
I hold out my striped paw
And she finally understands

When she played hockey, she had a whole team
Now I'm her whole team
And that's all she needs

I'm the cat who taught her
The tabby with the splotchy face
I'm the one who saw the magic
In a dog who'd lost her place

I'm Lizzie, and she's Marge
And together we're complete
My partner, my team
The dog who learned to fly when she skates

I was a good dog all my life
Married to a tabby cat, my wife
Three kittens in the backseat, sleeping sound
Never thought the world could turn around

I believed in justice, believed in law
Believed that everyone got treated fair
Then they locked my Petra up
And wouldn't tell me why she's there

Not all dogs, not all dogs
That's what I would've said before
Not all dogs look down on kittens
Not all dogs, not all—
But I saw what I saw

Office supply store, buying poster board
Kittens picking colors, green for Mama's eyes
We're protesting that they locked her up
And the checkout dog says "good luck" with sympathy in her eyes

Good luck?
Why do we need luck?
We need justice, not a roll of the dice
But maybe she knows something
That I'm just learning tonight

I thought the cops were reasonable
Firm but fair, they had their rules
They wouldn't let me see my wife
But surely that's just protocols

Then I saw the poodle pull his gun
On my baby by the statue
And everything I thought I knew
Shattered in that moment when I knew—

This is what she lives with
Every single day
This upside-down world
Where good dogs look away
I doubted her, I'm ashamed to say

Thought maybe she'd lost her temper, scratched
Thought maybe the stress had finally made her snap
But she was just a cat, driving with kittens in the back

Not all dogs
(But enough dogs)
Not all dogs
(But which dogs?)
Not all dogs would pull a gun
On a kitten who hissed
But one dog did

And I've been saying "not all dogs"
While my wife was saying "please just listen"
I've been saying "things aren't that bad"
While she's been scared every time she's driven

Three kittens clinging to me now
Allison and Pete and Robin
This is the world they're growing up in
And I can't protect them by pretending

Behind the bars her orange fur
Looks faded, yellow instead of red
"I didn't do anything wrong," she meows
"I know," I said

I know, and I should have known before
Should have walked this road a long time ago
If a cat and dog can fall in love
Then dogs can learn, we have to grow

For every cat who's told their story
While good dogs looked away and said
"Not all dogs, not all dogs"

But enough
Enough dogs
Too many dogs
And I was one

I'm so sorry
I'm so sorry
I'm so sorry
Now I see the world you've always seen
And I can't look away
Not anymore
Never again

All I wanted was to laze on the couch
Watching some show with fast-talking lawyer cats
Or dramatically entangled doctor dogs
But he's chirping nonsense words over and over
And I don't know what any of it means

So in my head, I start to scream
Then he really screams
Two otters face to face
Whiskers quivering

But he's just a child
And lowering myself to his level is just demeaning

What do you do when you're about to lose it?
When your toddler has the moral high ground
When the bright shining center of your life
Is also your jail cell, grinding you down…

Chestnut wish, chestnut wish
The squirrel fairy tale says you grant wishes
But I don't know what to wish for anymore
Don't know what would make this better

Strap him to my back, walk down the winding stairs
Past the bakery full of nutty foods I'll never eat
My reflection in the glass, his sweet eyes over my shoulder
That lopsided smile that breaks my heart

Tree Town isn't home
But it's where I'm living now
And I have to make it by in this crazy squirrel city somehow

At the playground, squirrel moms chitter-chat
"Kits are so wise," they say
And I can't relate, can barely catch my breath
Just watching my son collect chestnuts all day

Hours pass, families come and go
I'm drying up like a jellyfish on the sand
My tail's gone numb, and I still don't understand
He brings me chestnuts, chattering unintelligibly

Chestnut wish, chestnut wish
Smooth and dark against my paw
Chestnut wish, chestnut wish
You can't save me from this love

Can't save me from these precious moments
That are tearing me apart
I miss the baby he used to be
I'll miss the toddler when he grows

Every moment with him is a grain of sand
Falling away forever through an hourglass
While scratching me in the eye
Despite three layers of eyelids
I feel so trapped I could cry

Chestnut wish, chestnut wish
If there were a button I could push
To fast-forward through all these slow years
Would I push it? Would I?

And when I did, would I wish
I could push rewind instead?

My child brings me chestnuts
Stacked in piles around my paws
Clutched in his tiny claws

Chestnut wish, chestnut wish
I wish I knew what to wish for
But instead, I'll just keep moving forward

Sunny's belly's growling, growling
Haven't had a bite all day
Ghosts and ghouls keep howling, howling
Got no time to get away

Ecto-pack is heavy on my back
Portal at the Great Dane, gotta attack
Ecto-Busters, Ecto-Busters
We're the ones who get it done

"Can we stop for birthday wontons?
Just a forty-minute break?"
But Ripley says, "No stopping
We've got a city here to save"

Twenty flights of stairs to climb
Haunted squash vines in the way
No time, no time, no time
Gotta seal that portal today

Ecto-pack is heavy on my back
Purple-black portal, can't turn back
Ecto-Busters, Ecto-Busters
We're the ones who get it done

"Invite me to your world," it roars
"Picture me and I am yours!"

"Keep your mind blank!" Ripley yells
"Don't you picture anything!"
But Sunny's tummy's casting spells
Peanut butter's all she's thinking

Peanut butter, creamy-crunchy
Golden-brown and way too munchy
Now it's rising from the portal
A golem, giant, and immortal

Oh no! (Oh no!)
What'd you do? (What'd you do?)
Oh no, what have you done?
Oh no, this weighs a ton
A peanut butter monster
Looming over everyone
Oh no! (Oh no!)
Now it's coming after you!

But Ripley's got a plan, got a plan
Twisting dials with her little paws
Blue and yellow light expands
Easter meets with Halloween because—

The veil is thin between the days
Holidays can mix and blend
Robin's egg portal in a haze
Bunnies hopping without end

Baskets swinging, noses twitching
Not a single bunny's flinching
Bite by bite they take it down
Wrap it up in foil, all around

The golem falls, the golem flails
They steal its peanut butter while it wails
The whole city gets a treat
A year of candy, can't be beat

Ecto-pack is heavy on my back
Saved the city, that's a fact
Ecto-Busters, Ecto-Busters
We're the ones who get it done

Ecto-Busters, Ecto-Busters
We're the ones, we're number one
Ecto-Busters, Ecto-Busters
Yeah, we get it done!

Ripley's glaring from the driver's seat
"Hurry up, we've got a monster to beat"
But I'm so hungry, been up all night
Just need some chai and I'll be alright

Walked into the cafe, neon sign says "open"
Ring the bell, nobody's there
Then a creature rises up, bread dough and glopin'
"Can I help you?" – gives me quite a scare

It's a bread golem barista
Drippy, droopy, melting in the light
It's a bread golem barista
This is gonna be a weird night

"Two cinnamon rolls and a chai, please"
"Sweet or spicy?" it gurgles at me
I'm trying not to stare at its doughy face
While Ripley's tapping her wrist in that car, no grace

The golem brings my pastries in a box
I tear the corner, take a little peek
Green ectoplasm with glowing red eyes
"Naw, naw, nom!" – the cinnamon ghost shrieks

All the pastries are possessed
Every muffin, every bear claw too
All the pastries are possessed
What's a hungry yellow lab to do?

The golem goes back to get my chai
I jump the counter, gotta check it out
In the kitchen, milk and tea on the floor
Spirits sizzling, starting to sprout

I pull out my protonic wand
Wave it at the bread dough guy
He drops the carafe of chai, drops the milk carton
Now I've got three ghosts to pacify

Chai phantom rushing like a shadow
Milk ghost kissing my muzzle – blech!
Coffee spills, becomes a tornado
This is turning into a wreck

The coffee-geist is bouncing off the walls
Jittery and overcaffeinated
All three spirits blend into one
A dirty chai demon, animated

I hate dirty chai
If you want coffee, get coffee
I hate dirty chai
Why put espresso in my tea?

The bread golem's chasing them with a cup
"Get in here!" it gurgles around
It wants to serve, wants to be a good barista
Wants to get my order down

"I'd like to change my order," I say
"I'd like some… coffee cake today"
"We don't have that!" the golem cries
"Would you like me to tell you how?" I reply

"You need coffee, spices, milk" – I point up at the cloud
"And a basic bread dough" – I point at him
The golem slumps, then raises gloopy arms
"Come here! I need you!", it cries, light going dim

The dirty chai descends on me
But the bread golem jumps in between
Kneading the beverage demon inside
Mixing brown swirls with pastry white

It wobbles toward the oven door
"You'll have to take me out before I burn," it warns
Climbs right in without a pan
The dough glows red, the mouths all shriek
Then golden brown in just seconds flat
I slice two pieces of this coffee cake
Drop some money, grab my hat

Back in the car, Audrey's amazed
"This coffee cake is still warm and good!"
I taste the chai spices, feel the buzz
The bread golem barista understood

Ecto-cafe, ecto-cafe
Where the pastries come alive
Ecto-cafe, ecto-cafe
At least I got my chai (kinda)

Ripley peels out with squealing tires
"Took you long enough," she says
But I've got caffeine and coffee cake
Ready for whatever's ahead

Ecto-cafe
Where the spirits want to serve
Ecto-cafe
Got more than I deserved

Flying saucers landed on our cities
Skyscrapers crushed beneath their weight
The cats came down with cold, cruel eyes
Gold and green, scheming, planning our fate
We were nothing but animated rag dolls
Entertaining toys to chase around
Their cruelty knew no bounds
And all our pleas for mercy didn't rate

Grandma died with her ears laid low,
Whiskers trembling, breath turned slow.
I whispered lies to ease her pain,
"The cats are dreams, they never came,"
She found her peace and passed away
But I carried those lies like stones,
Through the battles, through the moans.
Fighting cats beneath their sky,
Fighting to make truth out of my lies

The lies swirled around me for years after
How we were better off with cats in power

Where have all the mousies gone?
Lost in shadows, lost to wrongs
But we fought, and we held on,
Till our mourning turned to song
We turned them out, every one

Where have all the mousies gone?
To the war, to the rebellion
We fought like tiny, whiskered hellions
Till our mourning turned to song
We turned them out, every one

But now I stand in a rooftop garden
Hardening my resolve, seeking my pardon
I set the neural helmet between my ears
And a ghostly form appears
Melting away the years

Grandma stands with her ears held high
Whiskers trembling as she asks me why
I whispered lies to ease her pain
The cats weren't a dream, they really came
But now those darkened years are past
And I feel light again at last
Through the battles, through the fight
I waited for this moment when I could make it right
Through the battles, through the moans
I carried all my lies like stones
But now I let those burdens go
The lies came true, and the truth makes us whole

Truth swirls around us in this hour
The evil cats have lost their power

Where have all the mousies gone?
Found in corners, taking shelter
For we fought, and we held on
Till our mourning turned to song

The lies came true
The lies came true, and the truth makes us whole

Running from a cat named Shreddy
Gray tabby with his claws out wide
By the concrete steps at Dixon Creek
Got nowhere left to hide

Then a tortoise shell appears
Phasing in with a cheerful wheeze
Ancient face looks down at me
"Hello, I'm The Tortoise, if you please"

"How will you help a mouse run away?
You're the slowest thing I've ever seen"
"It's true I walk slowly," he says
"But I'm much faster when I fly, if you come with me, you'll see what I mean"

Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Bigger and smaller than he seems
Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Faster and slower, living in between

There's a tiny blue door on his belly
With a brass knocker shining bright
He moves it through the air like magic
And I disappear from sight

Inside his shell, an oval room
Filled with windows on impossible views
Golden hills and ringed planets
Dancing forests in rainbow hues

"Where would you like to run away to?
I'm a Time Tortoise, we can go anywhere"
"Somewhere without cats," I squeak
"Or maybe somewhere cats don't care
That mice are small and scared and weak?"

Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Taking me places I've never dreamed
Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
When I'm with him, nothing is quite what it seems

He works the controls with scaly hands
Vortex of colors, scenes flash by
Mouse-sized mansion, gleaming rockets
Silver buildings touch the sky
He steps into the beam of light
Adjusting doors across space and time

Welcome to Mouselandia
Where mice wear suits and fancy clothes
Where cats are small and mice are tall
And nobody's afraid of their foes

I dance with mice in three-piece suits
I dance with a cat with gentle paws
His whiskers brush against my own
His eyes are green, but there's no claws

Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Showing me worlds I never knew
Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Tonight can be as long as I want it to

I traveled years inside his shell
Saw camellia wars with rhododendrons
Fixed spaceships spiraling to singularities
Shared tea with time-traveling companions

Stars exploded, galaxies spun
But through it all, one thing stayed true
That cat's raised paw hung over me
So I came back to face what I once knew

"You're not my mouse," the tabby says
"You're old"
"I've been traveling the universe," I reply
"And I won't run anymore, I'm bold"

I stare him down, he looks away
The weight lifts from my shoulders at last
"I don't want you anymore," he says
"Go home" – and I'm free from my past

Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Made me brave, made me new
Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Anywhere and anywhen, that's what you do

"You owe me, Tortoise, you stole my mouse"
The ancient face just winks and smiles
"Maybe someday I'll come back for you
And we'll travel through time for a while"

Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Bigger on the inside, that's the truth
Tortoise Who, Tortoise Who
Gave a frightened mouse back her youth

And her courage
And her years
And her dreams
Tortoise Who

He whispered to me when I was just an egg
Stories of worlds I'd never seen
Camellias and rhododendrons at war
Dancing trees and flowers with dreams

"I'll come back for you, Little Caterpillar
We'll fly across the stars
You'll see things you never imagined"
And his voice became my heart

So when he returned, I said
"Chrysalis can wait
Take me with you, take me away
I'm ready for my fate"

But I wasn't ready at all

Inside his shell, windows everywhere
Deserts and starscapes, rolling green fields
"Where would you like to run away to?
I'm a Time Tortoise, anywhere is real"

I chose a robe of orange and black
Like a butterfly I'd seen fly by
The camellias bowed when I walked past
But their queen had murder in her eyes

"You're just a cabbage white," she said
"Common, nothing grand
But stay here with me anyway
I'll pin your wings when you've died on my land"

Chrysalis can wait, I told myself
There's so much more to see
But I'm starting to feel so small
Next to eternity

The wildflowers were fighting their war
Freedom and beauty and blood
Butterflies flew high overhead
Completely out of reach, like gods

I followed the tortoise through it all
Watched a dandelion die and be reborn
Seeds blowing away in the wind
Each one a new life, freshly formed

He gave me one to take back home
"Little Lion," he called the seed
But all I could think about was my ladybug friend
And the mustard plant and safety

I don't want to be extraordinary
I don't want to be a queen
I just want to grow my own white wings
The commonest butterfly you've ever seen

Chrysalis can't wait anymore
My body's getting stiff
Take me home, I've had enough
Of someone else's myths

The tortoise understood, I think
He'd seen this all before
Temporary creatures in his wake
Each one wanting something more

But "more" doesn't always mean
Adventures across the stars
Sometimes it means flying with a friend
Under a sun that's actually ours

So he brought me home to my mustard plant
Where the ladybug waited, patient and true
I handed him the Little Lion seed
And then my body knew what to do

Silk overflowed, I glued my feet
My face split open, skin fell away
Everything I was became a chrysalis
And the chrysalis can't wait another day

Inside this crystal beating heart
I'm growing wings as white as snow
Not a monarch, not a queen
Just myself, and that's enough to know

When I emerge with my wedding dress wings
I'll fly with my ladybug toward the sun
Then let myself fall, spinning, twirling
Like I did when the adventure had just begun

But this time it's my adventure
My terms, my power, my choice
Not following an ancient tortoise
Just feeling out my own voice

The chrysalis can't wait
The chrysalis is ready now
I've seen the universe
But home is where I learned how

To be small
To be common
To be exactly who I am
A cabbage white butterfly
With my own simple plan

Chrysalis can't wait
And I don't want it to
I've had my grand adventure
Now I'm ready to be new

Sandbeard, Sandbeard, pirate otter in the stars
(Otter in the stars!)
Fiercest of the fierce, fuzziest of the fuzzy
(Fuzziest of the fuzzy!)
And best bewhiskered, by far!
(By far, by far!)

Sandbeard, Sandbeard, sailing near and far
(Near and far!)
Stole a space-trawler and hatched a plan so grand
(Plan so grand)
For bringing treasure to her cheerful pirate band
(Otter pirate band)

She's the fuzziest, the fiercest on the cosmic sea
(Cosmic sea)
Sandbeard the otter, wild and free
(Oh, so wild and free)
Set her sights on a purple moon
Gonna grab herself a treasure real soon

Amethyst drops dripping down
(Drip-drop, drippity-drop, de-drop)
From a clamshell big as a whale
Paw to pedal, pedal to metal
Screechin' through space with a comet tail

Down went the grappling hook with a splash-splish sound
(Splish-splash, splishity-splashy-splash)
Reeled up the clamshell, pearly and round
Big as a whale but she don't need the meat
That shell's gonna make her mission complete

Zip-zoom-karoom through the asteroid belt
(Karoom, karoom!)
Sling-shotting fast, that's the freedom she felt
(Freedom she felt!)
Back to New Mercury, her friends await
A planet that needs saving before it's too late

The moon was an egg that hatched and left the planet exposed
Yellow sun burning, too brightly it glowed
But Sandbeard's got a secret up her fuzzy sleeve
A tesserclam miracle, you better believe!

Sandbeard, Sandbeard, watch that shell unfold
(Watch it unfold!)
Larger on the inside, a sight to behold
(Sight to behold!)
Blocking out the sun with fractal grace
Saving all the otters and an alien dolphin race

The yellow light cooled, the bright sky dimmed
Corona dancing like a ring of fire
Otters swimming, dolphins jumping
All was well, all was well
Under the shade of a fractal shell

Now they feast on mangoes under seashell shade
(Sha-la-la-la)
Thanks to the finest pirate ever made
(Sha-la-la-la)
Sandbeard! (Sandbeard!)
The otter brave and true!
(Oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
We owe it all to you!

My skin is drying out
I can feel the withdrawal, no doubt
Want to go back home and run a bath
Lace the water, retread my path
Soak, soak, soak up the delicious chemical
Through my salamander skin — so clinical
Without the magic chemicals in my veins
I'm withering, drying up in pain
Shriveling like a water lily in the desert sand

That's me – an orange-skinned water lily
In a desert of fuzzy creatures, feeling silly
They all have more in common with each other
Than I do with any of these sisters and brothers
No matter how many clothes I'm wearing today
All they see is my naked skin on display
My spade-shaped face, exposed
It's all naked, no fur — too much disclosed
I'll never fit in this way

But I can't give up, can't go back home
Flushed the last of my sim-dopa down the drain alone
Swore I'd get clean, I'd dry out here
(I'd dry out here)
Hadn't realized how literally, I fear

Then I look up and I see him there
My spade-shaped jaw drops in the air
Orange and raw and dry, that's true
But I feel a tiny wellspring breaking through
He is gorgeous in the light
The roundness of his snout, just right
The jaunty flip of his little ears
The bare, naked, pinkness that appears
A handsome pig standing near
Bare and naked, like me here
(Like me here)

"You're Greg? I'm Lily," are the words I say
"Somehow I could tell," he says, smiling my way
We're the only ones fidgeting with our glasses
Wishing we could melt away as the interminable time passes

"Can I take you somewhere?" he asks of me
Takes me by the hand with his hoof so free
His skin is warm in a way mine isn't quite
Also in a way that fur never can be, that's right
Having bare skin doesn't feel so bad today
When I'm not the only one this way
(Not the only one)
And when someone else seems to want to stay

Through those double doors we go
Down that long hallway, moving slow
To the Undersea Ball tonight
(Undersea Ball tonight)
Where the water feels cool and soothing, so right
And the touch of his hand feels warm and bright

There's a whole community here I found
That I never knew about, all around, underground
Dolphins and sharks swimming in their circles below
Music playing on waterproof instruments, feelings flow
My skin still itches from withdrawal, it's true
But there's too much joy here breaking through
To pay attention to it now
(Pay attention to it now)

"Next time we should bring swimsuits," I suggest
"Oh, absolutely," he agrees, I'm blessed
And then his smile grows really wide today
Making his cheeks as round as apples, I'd say
When he realizes what I've just said
There'll be a next time ahead
(There'll be a next time)
There'll be a next time
(Next time ahead)

Walking through the angry crowd
Signs screaming hateful, voices loud
But I know who I'm meant to be
Behind this lumbering bear's body
No one else sees the mouse hidden inside me
My clumsy paws, my wounded heart

Every mirror told me lies
Every movement felt too large, too wide
Years of living in the wrong fur and skin
Waiting for my real life to begin

I'm not running away
I'm running toward
The version of myself
I've been waiting for
Let them call it murder, call it wrong
But I'm just trying to find the way I belong

The doctors show me
My new body lying there
Carefully prepared, sleeping in a cryo-tube
Empty and unused
Waiting for me to take my place
Inhabit a new body, live inside a new space

These delicate paws, this beating heart
I can't wait for my new life to start
Counting backward, nighty-nine, ninety-eight
Leaving behind this massive weight

The lid lifts up, I try to speak
My voice comes out a tiny squeak
My paws feel clumsy, tingly, new
But they're mine, finally mine, finally true
I hold them up before my face
Small and gray and full of grace
No longer brown and far too large
I'm the one who's now in charge of my fate

I reach back to say goodbye
To the body where I used to hide
It never felt right, but it was mine
Now I'm standing on the other side

I'm not running away
I'm running toward
The version of myself
I've been waiting for
Let them call it murder, call it wrong
But I'm just trying to find a way to belong
These delicate paws, this beating heart
Finally, finally home
My new life can start

I dove into the water, finally free
Round face, round nose, finally me
No more sharp edges, no more cat's disguise
Just honest brown reflecting in my otter eyes
My family sees a stranger where I stand
But here at the pool, they understand

We're all reborn, we're all brand new
Finding the bodies that feel true
In this water, I'm not alone
Swimming circles, finally home

Then the pool turned cold, the water crystallized
A winter wonderland before our eyes
And there beside me, wrapped in yellow terry cloth
An octopus with secrets, pupils soft
"How did you do this?" I had to know
They answered with a smile, just for show

We sat together by the melting snow
Watching polar bears and penguins throw
Snowballs flying, laughter everywhere
Snow animals decorated with hats to wear
"Are you bothered?" the octopus asked me then
I said the right words, but wondered when
I'd learn to see past my own small view
Of what a body's supposed to do

"We used to be seven mice and one gerbil," they said to me
"But we couldn't share our thoughts fast enough, you see"
Eight brilliant minds, now dancing as one
Tentacles coiling in the sun
And I felt fear – not of what they'd done
But that I was judging them, just like everyone

I'd been so sure that I knew what was right
One mind, one body, one soul, one life
(Well, at least, one body at a time)
But the octopus showed me something more
Eight paths converging through one door
Who was I to say what bodies fit?
I'd been an otter hiding in a cat

Aesthetic chaos, art and play
Otters and octop-eye, making our own way
We're all reborn, we're all brand new
Finding the bodies that feel true
Whether one mind or eight combined
We're all just searching for peace of mind

I'm a chickadee in a spacesuit, smallest bird in the race
Four of us competing, but I know my place
Kiley's got the eagle wings, history on her side
But I've got talons made for fixing circuit boards and unstoppable pride

The moon stretched out before me, full of what could be
One of us will go to Mars, securing our family tree
Can't outfly a raven, can't match an eagle's size
But maybe fixing robots faster is how a small bird wins the prize

The future's like an egg, you can't see what's inside
Until it cracks wide open and you fly to the other side
I thought I knew what I was racing for
Turns out I was wrong; misjudged the final score

Can't believe the turkey won – impossible, absurd
He's the stupidest, laziest of every up-lifted bird
So I flew to his robot, crawled inside its head
Found a Russian processor, proof that he'd been led

For a moment I thought I'd won, thought I'd saved the day
But Kiley fixed her robot while I flew away
The bald eagle got her glory, got her trip to Mars
And I landed on a robot's shoulder, underneath the stars

"Did you really want to?" Gus asked me then
A lonely life on Mars, tending robots, no real friends
Just red dust and duty for a decade or more
While Earth spins on without you, complex and unsure

The future's like an egg, you can't see what's inside
Until it cracks wide open and you fly to the other side
I thought Mars was my destiny, thought I knew the score
Turns out I was racing toward the wrong door

Now I look at Earth, that gibbous jumble in the sky
Blue and green and complicated, that's where I'll reside
My future hatched already, just not the way I planned
A chickadee with clever talons, still grounded on the land

Seven pulling, scraping stone
One arm dreaming, dragging slow
Dry and rasping, far from home
Why did we listen? We don't know

But our dreamer heard a song
From somewhere beyond the foam
And seven of us followed along
Into the killing zone

Resentment flowing through our shared veins
This weight we carry, this useless limb
Led us to these razored plains
What good are dreams so far from where we swim?

Still the dreamer heard a song
From somewhere we couldn't see
And seven of us came along
To where we shouldn't be

Then one arm touched something smooth
Cold metal, bright and strange
A ship that fell here from above
Inside the pilot still remained–
A corpse broadcasting remembered truth
Telepathically sending dreams
Of how everything could change
Of how everything could be
If we flew far beyond our natal sea

Far beyond the sea
Where dreams flow freely

Now the dreamer feeds the strong
And the strong will build the dream
We're eight becoming one
Learning what the dead thing means
There are songs beyond the foam
There are dreams beyond the sea
And seven arms will fly one home
Into infinity

I spun a perfect web of stars
Spiraling through the void
Other spinners came from afar
To see the crafting strategies I'd employed

But perfect isn't living
And fame won't make you whole
I learned that webs need tending
And gardens need a soul

He showed me carbon blooming wild
On dusty little spheres
I scattered matter like a child
And watched across the years

'Cause perfect isn't living
And distance isn't sight
I needed something shining
More than stellar light

I grew a world of fuzzy things
With triangle ears and swishy tails
They danced along the ocean-line
And never lost themselves in scales
So I drank the universe down deep
Spun silk around my thousand feet
Crushed myself from god to beast
To wake up small and incomplete

Perfect isn't living
And spinning isn't home
I needed something giving
A heartbeat of my own
Now I'm standing on the sand
With four paws instead of more that can juggle stars
Now green eyes look at me, and I hold out my trembling hand
Each moment of this limited life
Is more beautiful than sifting through centuries of cosmic sand

I touched the orb and light flashed bright
Five suns and seven moons
My friends made fish fall from the sky
And bent the water's tune

Jumping jellyfish and singing salmon
Penguin-swans taking flight
Words and wishes making magic happen
In impossible starlight

But all I wanted was to change
To be someone else for once
To feel what it's like in a different frame
Before the moment's done

I stared into the mirror stream
Wishing I could be
Like my otter friends who swim and dream
So naturally free

Jumping jellyfish and singing salmon
Water dancing in the air
Every phrase a spell, every word an anthem
In a world beyond compare

And then I felt the tingling start
My whiskers, ears, and tail
A different body, same old heart
Learning how to sail

The water rushed over otter fur
Finally feeling right
I swam upstream without a care
'Til the world flashed white

Now I'm back in my tabby skin
The orb's power cell is gone
But I know what it's like within
A body where I belong

A tiny taste of magic leaves
An aftertaste of loss
But it was worth it just to be
Something beautiful and soft

Jumping jellyfish and singing salmon
Gone but not forgot
When impossible world's come calling
Let yourself be caught