The Afternoon Held You

Lyrics

[Verse 1] I kept your coffee cup beside the sink Though weeks have passed, I still forget to think The morning finds the handle turned your way Like some small habit asking you to stay [Pre-Chorus] I tell myself the rooms have learned to breathe But every quiet hour remembers you and me [Chorus] If I could keep one thing from slipping through I’d keep the way the afternoon held you Your coat against the chair, your hand in mine The ordinary days I called our time And when the seasons turn the page again I’ll carry what we were, not where it ends [Verse 2] Your book is open where you lost your place A folded corner keeping its small shape I read the line aloud, then let it rest Some words are kinder left inside the chest [Pre-Chorus] I’m learning that goodbye can leave a room And still make space for something new to bloom [Chorus] If I could keep one thing from slipping through I’d keep the way the afternoon held you Your coat against the chair, your hand in mine The ordinary days I called our time And when the seasons turn the page again I’ll carry what we were, not where it ends [Bridge] Maybe love is not a door we close Maybe it’s the seed a garden knows I can miss you and still face the day I can let the light come in and stay [Final Chorus] I’ll keep the things that made the small days true The gentle ways I learned to look at you Your coat against the chair, your hand in mine A little piece of kindness, still alive And when the seasons turn the page again I’ll carry what we were, and let it mend [Outro] The cup is clean; the morning’s passing through I leave a little room for something new