Broken Scale

Your last low note stayed in the room

After the door clicked shut

Two glasses waited by the sink

One turned toward the other

I stood there with my coat in hand

And heard the building settle

The bare floor kept the quiet

Longer than I thought it would

We kept talking past the point

Where both of us already knew

There was nothing left to fix

That wouldn't change the truth

We were a broken scale

Trying to keep one song in tune

Nothing false in what we felt

We just held it past its time

I won't call it a mistake

Just because it couldn't stay

I can keep what was beautiful

And still walk away

I take the stairs instead of waiting

For the elevator down

My coat is only half-buttoned

Cold air meets me at the door

A taxi turns the corner slowly

Someone laughs across the street

The whole block carries on

Like nothing happened here

I get halfway to the corner

Before I notice I can breathe

I don't need to turn around

To know you're not behind me

We were a broken scale

Trying to keep one song in tune

Nothing false in what we felt

We just held it past its time

I won't call it a mistake

Just because it couldn't stay

I can keep what was beautiful

And still walk away

Your last low note comes back to me

Halfway down the block

I almost turn as if you called

Then traffic covers up the sound

I pull my coat around me

And wait for the light to change

When I cross, it isn't gone

Just farther away

We were a broken scale

Trying to keep one song in tune

Nothing false in what we felt

We just held it past its time

I won't call it a mistake

Just because it couldn't stay

I can keep what was beautiful

Without carrying the rest