Last Cup on the Counter

[Verse 1]
Your cup is on the counter
Lipstick on the rim
Calendar still frozen
On the day everything dimmed
I walk the same old hallway
Pretending you’ll call out
Swear I hear your laughter
Then the silence shouts
[Chorus]
I still set a place for you at the table
Talk into the air like you’re just running late
Carry all the words I never was able
Fold them like the napkins that you used to straighten straight
You’re gone
But you’re everywhere I go
Mama
I’m learning to miss you slow
[Verse 2]
Your sweater on the armchair
Sleeves still holding shape
I keep your favorite station
Just a little out of place
I drive past that clinic
Windows look the same
Pull over in the parking lot
And whisper your name
[Chorus]
I still set a place for you at the table
Talk into the air like you’re just running late
Carry all the words I never was able
Fold them like the napkins that you used to straighten straight
You’re gone
But you’re everywhere I go
Mama
I’m learning to miss you slow
[Bridge]
Some days I’m angry
Some days I’m small
Some days I feel you
In nothing at all
But when I start breaking
Right there in the store
I feel your old patience
Guide me to the door (hey)
[Chorus]
I still set a place for you at the table
Talk into the air like you’re just running late
Carry all the words I never was able
Fold them like the napkins that you used to straighten straight
You’re gone
Yet you live in all I know
Mama
I’m learning to let you go
Mama
I’m learning to miss you slow

Gentle acoustic ballad with intimate male vocals, close-mic warmth. Soft fingerpicked guitar and distant piano swells; verses stay hushed and conversational, then chorus blooms with subtle harmonies and a low, steady pulse from upright bass. Bridge lifts with a fragile string pad and a slight tempo push, then everything falls back to almost solo voice for the final lines.