Lyric

Once, Only Once

[Intro]

(...kettle breathing...)

Once, only once

If it ended there

It would’ve been beautiful

[Verse 1]

I don’t think

I’ll ever enjoy tea again

The sound of whisking

Soft bamboo against silence

Water rising in the kettle

Only the sound remains

The meaning slips somewhere else

Thinking of you

I carve a scoop that holds nothing

Shaving it down

Again, again

But it never becomes

Something that can carry

The entrance was smaller than I thought

Not meant for entering

But for never coming back

[Verse 2]

A ladle placed back

The sound tells me

It’s already over

The bowl turns slowly

Warmth lingers

Just a second too late

I fold the cloth

Perfectly

While everything inside

Refuses to settle

Closing the tea caddy

The scent stays

Longer than it should

Water in the jar

Full

But it fills nothing

I look into the bowl

And there you are

Where you shouldn’t be

[Verse 3]

The kettle hums

Like it’s trying to hold something back

Repeating

The same small sound

I lift the ladle

And return it

There’s nothing left

To draw

A drop falls

Into the waste bowl

But what flows away

Is time

The incense grows stronger

Only memory

Deepens

I reach toward the heat

But warmth

Doesn’t reach me

The tools rest on the shelf

Their purpose

Already finished

I place them away

One by one

As if closing

Each moment with them

[Outro]

Thinking of you

I carve a scoop that holds nothing

Even knowing

It will never hold

My hands

Don’t stop

Once, only once

Is what they call it

But this

Stayed

Far too long