After The Fact

There is a room that you just now walked out of



It has everything in it but you



There's a mirror that knew what you looked like



And a door that has ruined the view



There's a carpet depressed by your footsteps



A hallway which echoes their sound



There's an arrow that points to the exit



And a lift that goes no further down, no further down



There's a stage play that shows every evening



With no prompter, no plot and no lines



The actors don't know what they're doing



They improvise all of their lives



And the action's all happening offstage



Where the props meet the actual things



Someone saw you with a gun in your hand



I heard the report from the wings



You say you're leaving



When I know that you're gone



After the fact, you'll be back



But long after the song



If ever I try to run after



The ceiling reveals the sky



The carpet is pulled out from under



The walls disappear in the flies



Behind them, the lenses of cameras



They all want a piece of us now



The story behind the unmaking



The what and the why and the how



Excuse if I choose not to bow



You say you're leaving



When I know that you're gone



After the fact, you'll be back



But long after the song is gone



After the fact, you'll be gone



But long after the song