Lyric

The lower hall was empty

But violets held the stair

No footsteps in the carpet

Still something kept you there

The lamps had all been lowered

The curtains touched the floor

You called the room untouched

But the air disagreed more

I did not ask the hallway

What your mouth refused to say

The scent had learned the outline

Of a name you put away

Perfume stayed upstairs

Long after she was gone

It gathered in the curtains

And proved what you kept wrong

No letter, no confession

No witness at the door

Perfume stayed upstairs

And told me there was more

A brush lay turned over

Beside the porcelain tray

One ribbon in the drawer

Had not belonged to me

Your collar held a trace

Too delicate to blame

But every softer note

Kept folding into her name

I did not move the mirror

I did not force the view

The room arranged itself

Around what followed you

Perfume stayed upstairs

Long after she was gone

It gathered in the curtains

And proved what you kept wrong

No letter, no confession

No witness at the door

Perfume stayed upstairs

And told me there was more

The bed was made too neatly

The flowers had turned pale

A silver box sat open

With nothing it could veil

I stood beside the landing

With both hands calm and cold

Some absences are louder

Than anything they hold

I used to fear the rooms

That kept another woman’s air

Now every closed door opens

When I decide to stare

I will not beg the truth

To kneel or to explain

I only let the fragrance

Return what wore your name

Perfume stayed upstairs

Long after she was gone

It gathered in the curtains

And proved what you kept wrong

No letter, no confession

No witness at the door

Perfume stayed upstairs

And told me there was more

By morning it was fading

But not enough to spare

I left the room in silence

And let it keep her there