Lyric

A silk scarf slips down from the chair

And settles softly on the floor

I reach before I think about it

Then leave it where it fell

The window's open just enough

To lift the curtain from the sill

Your side of the bed is cooling

I hear a bus somewhere below

An hour ago your voice cut through mine

Now I hear the pipes behind the wall

Late friction, after everything

The place you held my wrist stays warm

Late friction in the quiet room

Long after you let go

We ran the whole night out of words

Then you took your coat and left

The first bus pulls away below

I hear the brakes, then nothing else

Your water glass is by the bed

A thumbprint near the rim

The lamp is still turned toward the wall

The way you always left it

I pull the sheet across one corner

Leave the other side undone

Someone starts a shower upstairs

A delivery van backs in below

A bicycle bell cuts through the street

The room stays exactly as it is

Late friction, after everything

The place you held my wrist stays warm

Late friction in the quiet room

Long after you let go

We ran the whole night out of words

Then you took your coat and left

The first bus pulls away below

I hear the brakes, then nothing else

I find one earring by the doorway

Small enough to almost miss

I set it down beside the keys

Instead of putting it away

The lift takes longer than it should

I watch each number light and fade

When the doors open at the lobby

Rain shines across the pavement

I stop beneath the awning

While a taxi clears the curb

My sleeve rides up above my wrist

Cold rain touches where you held me

I pull the cuff back down again

The taxi turns and disappears

Someone opens up the café

And stacks the chairs outside

Late friction, after everything

Cool rain against my wrist

Where you held me isn't warm now

I still know exactly where

We ran the whole night out of words

Then you took your coat and left

The first bus pulls away behind me

My sleeve darkening with rain

The silk stays where it landed

Upstairs somewhere behind me

My cuff is wet against my wrist

A bus changes gears down the street