Let's Duet! (2025)
If this frail world should falter toward its end,
No place I’d choose but where thou stand’st with me.
If all our mirth were spent, our hour made bare,
I’d hold thee fast awhile and greet death glad.
If earth itself should fail and fade away,
Still would I face the end beside thy breath.
"Die with a Smile" by Bruno Mars & Lady Gaga
Thou want’st me so, and I desire thee too;
Sweet love of mine, I feel my spirit rise.
Along the star-strewn heavens we rebel,
And cast off earth to wander far and free.
Thou art my moonlight, aye, my guiding star;
I need thee through the watches of the night.
Come, take my hand and move thy feet with mine—
I float aloft, uplifted by this joy.
Thou art my moon, my starlight ever bright;
Remain with me till night gives way to dawn.
Come, dance with me beneath the wheeling skies—
For still I rise, and still I levitate.
"Levitating" by Dua Lipa
Yet still I press ahead and do not pause;
No force can stay my course nor halt my stride.
A tuneful voice doth echo in my mind,
Assuring me that all shall yet be well.
Let gamesters game, and scoffers spend their spite;
I’ll loose myself from all their idle noise.
Though hearts be bruised and false ones feign their truth,
I cast it off—I cast it from my soul.
I shimmy off their words and journey on,
Unburdened still, unbent by what they say.
"Shake it Off"
The hound doth bark, the cat lets loose her cry;
The bird proclaims the dawn with tuneful voice.
Each beast declares its nature plain and true—
But what strange sound doth issue from the fox?
No mortal tongue hath named his secret call;
He speaks in riddles hid from human ear.
What noise he makes, no scholar yet can say—
The fox alone keeps counsel with the night.
"What Does the Fox Say" by Ylvis
My steed well trained to bear me through the night,
I ride the dusted road till day is done.
Yet still I press where olden paths endure.
I’ll ride till time itself commands me rest.
"Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X & Billy Ray Cyrus
Dost thou not crave me as I crave for thee?
Say, is thy longing equal unto mine?
Let morrow’s rest be claimed another day;
Tonight, abandon reason—run amok.
No more is asked of thee but this one thing:
Come find me where our numbered doors align.
"APT" by Rose & Bruno Mars
Let us now gleam as jewels in the dark,
A living light that pierceth through the night.
So fair, so free, we burn with steady flame,
As stars made flesh upon the vault of heaven.
Our hearts align like facets cut in truth;
Together we outshine the common world.
Then lift thy face and blaze without all fear—
For we are born to shine as precious stone.
"Diamonds" by Rhianna
Alas, how grievous ’tis to mourn the good
We shared ere now—thou once wert dear to me.
For lo, our love hath soured to poisoned strife;
What once was fierce affection turns to feud.
Behold the ruin wrought by thine own hand.
Now stand we torn with quarrels deep and raw,
Such wounds as time nor reason soon may heal.
Thou struck’st a cut that piercèd to the bone;
Thus now between us flows corrupted blood.
"Bad Blood"
O dance, thou ape—perform once more for us,
They cry, “Again, again,” and still demand.
I’ve danced until my feet can scarce endure,
Yet thou would’st have me leap and spin anew.
They call for song, for motion without rest;
I’ll move once more, though breath and bone protest.
Say when thou’rt pleased, and I may cease at last—
Till then I dance, obedient to their gaze.
"Dance Monkey" by Tones and I
I gained at last the right to guide the wheel,
And drove the streets we once did wander through.
Each signal stirred a memory of thee,
For every road still leads my thoughts to you.
I hear thy voice in songs that haunt the air,
And tears fall fast where joy once took its seat.
Though I may drive alone these midnight paths,
My heart yet rides beside thee, aching still.
"Driver's License" by Olivia Rodrigo
Think’st thou that I alone did cause this fall?
I swear I did not wreck it by myself.
If ruin came, it came by joined consent—
Thy hand was there as surely as was mine.
I’ll bear my fault, yet thou must bear thine too;
This flame was fed by more than breath of one.
"I Had Some Help" by Post Malone ft. Morgan Wallen
O childish man, why run’st thou still to me?
Alas my life—must I thy refuge be?
Wilt thou not grant a blameless maid her peace?
Hast thou ne’er heard that one should tend the self?
Half of thy wit lies absent from thy skull.
O childish man, why flee’st thou not thy need?
Thou drain’st my heart of all the love I give.
"Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter
Speak plain and true, on earth, on sea, on air;
I swear my faith unto thy guiding hands,
Thy chosen side, the pulse that governs thee.
What paths thou trod’st before I ask no more—
For now thou art mine own. The night draws near,
A sleepless dream thou long hast prayed to meet,
No longer bound to Ophelia’s fate.
"The Fate of Ophelia"
Risen at last, returned unto the fray,
I faced my trial and would not yield an inch.
Through endless nights, by will alone sustained,
I learned the skill required to stay alive.
And in the final clash, when fate drew near,
I fixed my gaze upon the watching beast;
Till one by one, my rivals fell aside,
And still I stand—by hunger made anew.
"Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor
This life remains a road before my feet;
I mean to ride its length through dark and shine.
Should thou but travel hence with me,
I’ll chase the dawn and never turn aside.
"Life is a Highway" by Tom Cochran/covered by Rascal Flatts
She warn’d me thus: “This heart thou would’st not take—
’Tis cracked already, marred by former blows.”
She said all things her hand once touched did burn,
And turn to ash ere morning’s light could rise.
She vow’d to stay but few and fleeting nights,
Then slip away before the dawn was sure.
I answer’d soft: “My love, thou must know this—
That passing flame thou nam’st is what I seek.”
"That's What I Want" by Morgan Wallen ft. Tate McRae
Like avions bound, we ought to cleave as one;
Though once I swore but me I needed none.
We cannot rule the skies nor change the air;
This bond may fade—or last, and prove the fairer.
I know not why these tears yet stain my cheek;
I doubt my heart could love thee any more.
Though time be brief, my dear, this vow stands fast:—
I’ll love thee till the day my breath is gone,
Till light departs and leaves mine eyes in dark,
Till comes the day that claims my mortal frame.
"Birds of a Feather" by Billie Eilish
The fiends cast lots; the angels turn away.
What doth not end me makes me crave thee more.
All feels made strange—the fashion of thy form;
A sorrowed hue hath seized my quickened heart.
Ah—woe and wonder mingle in this heat;
This season bears a cruel and burning name.
I feign my calm when questioned by the world;
No law holds fast in heaven cracked and frail.
Ah—sweet affliction, fierce and full of thee,
This hateful solstice shared with thee alone.
"Cruel Summer"
O Lord, what work hast thou now wrought in me?
A rose-bright foal, too bold for modest reins.
I dance where music hums till dawn is near.
Dear mother, fear me not—I chase my joy.
Upon the stage, in lifted heel I stand;
’Tis there I fit, beneath the painted lights.
"Pink Pony Club" by Chappell Roan
Mine heart is like a sturdy chariot’s frame,
Dragged through mire, yet strong with wounds and scars;
It runs on dreams and fuel that never wanes,
And that long highway holds the key thereto.
When called to speed, it leaps with foot well down;
The Lord Himself hath marked each beating blow.
A little love it seeks, yet strong it stands—
Good as it is, and hardy in its force.
"Heart Like a Truck" by Lainey Wilson
Within this world, hard stone bears fragile bloom;
Her grief but guides her hand to what she knows.
By covert nights, she lets her spirits rise;
Yet better days draw near, I hold it sure.
If choice were mine alone to shape this earth,
No nameless souls should claim my pity’s tear.
I’d steal thy pain and crown thee with all things,
For all I wish is this: to see thee thrive—
To see thee win, as though this world were mine.
“Luther” — Kendrick Lamar & SZA
Ah—thou dost think, “She bears a wondrous air,”
Reclined at ease, exchanging looks afar.
Soft—aye, methinks I’ve stood in that same place.
Ah—now thou mak’st me think her wondrous still;
Yet truth I know, and thou art naught but one
More common man—how true, how passing true.
"That's So True" by Gracie Abrams
’Tis I—good morrow—aye, the fault is mine.
At hour of tea, all voices grant it so.
I’ll gaze full-faced upon the blazing sun,
Yet shun the glass that shows my truer form.
How wearying ’tis to cheer the darker soul,
To champion still the hero’s crooked twin.
"Anti-Hero"
I’d scarce believe mine eyes, did ten thousand lights
Illume the dark and teach my soul to dream.
As I lay wake, they filled the open air,
And left soft trails of wonder in my sight.
I’d have no thought to quit this waking dream;
I’d wish these moments never fled the night.
For such bright sparks make loneliness grow small,
And turn the quiet dark to gentle gold.
"Fireflies" by Owl City
I walk alone upon this broken way,
The sole true path that ever felt like mine.
I roam where none beside me keep their pace,
And drift through streets that echo with my steps.
I walk this road in shadows of the night,
Where dreams lie cracked and scattered in the dust.
I walk alone—yet still I walk it on,
For this lone way is all I’ve ever known.
"Boulevard of Broken Dreams" by Green Day