Dear McCracken

I just stepped on a plane, my bag's on the shelf I find my seat in the middle and plan to keep to myself The pilot comes on, says "There's been a delay" And I sigh, buckle up, and prepare for the wait There's a middle-aged woman on my right by the window No ring on her finger, maybe divorced or a widow? She's drafting an email and from where I am seated I can side-eye that shit, so of course I'm gon' read it It said "Dear McCracken," this is already great Dude's got a pen pal and a killer last name She opens with an inside joke and she's hopin' To set a casual tone, her words carefully chosen She was sure that her week spent in Houston would drag But then a face from her past quickly changed all of that The trip was for business, she's used to the travel But this time she's not ready to head back to Seattle Dear McCracken, I'd rather be off this plane I can't admit the half of it that I want to say Do I pretend, do I push you away? I'm jet laggin' McCracken and I'll give you, I'll give you your space I can tell by the abuse of the backspace key There's a heart balanced on how her worlds are perceived She's retyped that fourth paragraph four times Swinging the tone back and forth until she's so satisfied That he knows that even though their paths have diverged There's an air of regret but not enough to reverse And I am stunned, there I sit, completely convinced That once you grow old you stop dealin' with this The uncertain, the hurtin', the feelin like dirt When things don't work out by the fall of the curtain She hits send, powers off, and we're ready to go And I am sad for the passion that McCracken, he might never know Dear McCracken, I'd rather be off this plane I can't admit the half of it that I want to say Do I pretend, do I push you away? I'm jet laggin' McCracken and I'll give you, I'll give you your Dear McCracken, I'm keepin' this on my chest I've said a lot of things but none of them what I meant Do I pretend, do I try to forget? I'm jet laggin' McCracken and I wish you, I wish you the best And I thought, I thought by that age Our broken hearts had seen their worst And I thought that kind of heartache was meant for the young But we're never too old to hurt And I thought, I thought by that age Our broken hearts had seen their worst And I thought that kind of heartache was meant for the young But we're never too old to hurt I just stepped off a plane, I've got one regret I know I'll never get closure or ever see how it ends No, I won't know his answer, what happens between them Why she kept her cards so close even she couldn't see them What gave her such pause when she so clearly wanted To tell you all the emotions she tried so hard to bottle And I'll never know why she kept the honest truth from you But oh, dear McCracken, in the rough draft Oh, in the rough draft In the rough draft she loved you