Lyric

You left the light on

Then stepped away

The room could hold my coat

But not my name

I stood inside the doorway

With my shoulders drawn in

You said I could come closer

But never where to begin

The chair was not for leaving

The silence was not cruel

Your kindness made a border

And I obeyed the rule

No one closed the door

No one turned the key

But no one said the words

That would make room for me

You asked if I was comfortable

I learned to answer yes

I folded up my breathing

And kept it off your chest

The walls were almost gentle

The table almost warm

I almost felt invited

Then disappeared in form

There is a kind of mercy

That never lets you land

A place beside the body

But nowhere for the hands

I was allowed to stay there

But never to arrive

The light was left behind me

Like proof I was alive

You made a little space there

But not a place to rest

I was not turned away

Just not quite welcome yet

I cannot call it exile

I cannot call it home

I learned the shape of almost

And made it all my own

No one had to wound me

No one had to lie

You only kept me near enough

To watch myself go quiet

No one closed the door

No one turned the key

But no one said the words

That would make room for me

I was allowed to stay there

But never to arrive

The light was left behind me

Like proof I was alive

You made a little space there

But not a place to rest

I was not turned away

Just not quite welcome yet

I leave before the morning

Before the warmth can show

You never asked me back

So I learned where not to go