Lyric

Rain by noon

That’s what you said

I nodded once

And buttered bread

Milk was low

Rice was cheap

The road was wet

The town would freeze

There were years

Between our plates

No one reached

For what they weighed

The Weather Took My Place

At the table where I sat

You asked about the cold

I asked about the cat

The Weather Took My Place

And filled the careful room

All the words we didn’t use

Stayed folded in the news

You cut pears

I poured tea

The glass was warm

Against my knee

Someone sold

The corner store

You said the wind

Was worse than before

I had things

I meant to say

But groceries

Got there first today

The Weather Took My Place

In the chair across from you

Clouds and weekend plans

Did what I could not do

The Weather Took My Place

So nothing had to break

We spoke about the forecast

And left the rest unnamed

Maybe this was kindness

Maybe this was fear

Two people talking softly

Around the missing years

I asked if roads were icy

You asked when I would drive

We kept the table steady

And no one looked surprised

The Weather Took My Place

While the dishes cooled beside us

You passed the salt politely

Like nothing sat between us

The Weather Took My Place

And I almost felt relieved

Some families keep their distance

With ordinary things