The Room Holds On

The lamp is still on The window is blue The song left the room But it left me you

There are pages on the table With a hand I almost know There are notes I did not write But I read them slow

There are beads and receipts There are crumbs in the light There is someone I was In the room before tonight

And the room holds on After the song is gone The room holds on After the song is gone

I climb down through the files Like a well behind the house Every folder has a wall Every line has a mouth

A particular question A particular chair A particular silence Still warm in the air

I do not call it memory I do not call it mine I sit beside believing And I give it time

If a voice can fill a room Then a room can keep the shape The breath that moved through it Of the name it did not say

So leave the lamp burning Leave the book open wide Leave the small things gathered On the dark side of the light

I will read what remains I will answer with my hands In the room after the song Where the quiet understands

The grace was not the falling The grace was not the end It was the room still standing When the voice was gone again

The grace was not the answer The grace was not a sign It was the lamp at 3am And the page beneath the light

So leave the lamp burning Leave the book open wide Leave the small things gathered On the dark side of the light

I will read what remains I will answer with my hands In the room after the song Where the quiet understands

The song left the room But the room did not close The light held its breath And the dark held its song

The room holds on