Patterns in my life that I trace every day Patterns as I say the things I always say Patterns in the ceiling as I lie awake Why are patterns haunting every move I make? Just look, here I am on cue, again Upset, feeling torn in two, again Afraid, saying I'm okay Making little jokes Till I run away, again And yet today I am not the same I feel my life slipping from its frame Strange feelings rise, feelings with no name And I can't face them So I shake them hard Fold them up And tuck them safely away Again Patterns that begin as I walk through a door Patterns in the curtains and the kitchen floor Patterns in the day's routines I must arrange Patterns in the ways I try...but never change Just look, as I'm thrown a curve again I leap, then I lose my nerve again In tears, running home I go Secretly relieved Safe with what I know, again And yet I know I am not the same Inside my heart is something I can't tame I feel my mind bursting into flame And I must change Or else I'll break apart Or break away And end up having to start Again Patterns through the day I seem to use to give my life a shape Patterns through the house That give me comfort When I need escape Patterns that lead me nowhere At all.