Lost ground

You sat where the light cut thin
Hair grown out from a life I missed
I nearly left before you spoke
Then some old song pulled me back in

You said you run just to quiet your mind
I said I drink just to feel mine
You had that look I couldn’t place
Like weather turning out of time

And I could’ve walked on by
Let the moment slip through
But you moved like a river
And I lost ground in you

You said it plain like passing talk
Two lives gone before that night
The room kept turning—forks and wine—
But something in me just went quiet

Under fig trees, gold on skin
You said we don’t choose a thing
Thoughts come in like they own the place
We just live with what they bring

And I could’ve walked on by
Left the leaves where they fell
But you burned through the silence
Like a truth I can’t tell

Rain on glass, a flickering screen
You broke where the light went thin
I held you there without a word
Like I could stop it caving in

Morning came in a quieter tone
Wipers keeping time alone
Your hands still shook against my skin
Like we needed proof we’d been

And I could’ve walked on by
Let your ghost undo
But you live in my body
Like a storm passing through

Now you’re caught in the smallest things
In coffee, songs, the air I breathe
A shape that never settles right
A debt I don’t know how to pay

There’s a charge when the memory hits
Like rain on dust, like lightning moves
I stand still, I feel the ground
But it always brings me back to you