Name on the Cup

Sharpie in my hand,

a smile I've worn too long "Name for the order?"

Same old song

Jon with an H,

Sarah with no A I

write them all down wrong anyway

Ten thousand names, scrawled in black Not one of them ever looks

back

Your name on the cup,

but I never knew your face Your name on the cup,

a signature of grace

I call it out to the empty room "Marcus!

Your oat milk latte's up!"

And nobody knows I'm screaming too

Your name on the cup

The regular comes in at half past eight

Orders the same, never learns my fate

I know his sorrows by his sugar count

And the way he stirs when the news is out

Someone spells their name in riddles

Someone growls and calls me "kid"

I wear the apron like a shroud

And bury every word I never said

Ten thousand names, scrawled in black

Not one of them ever looks back

Your name on the cup,

but I never knew your face Your name on the cup,

a signature of grace I call it out to the empty room

"Marcus! Your oat milk latte's up!"

And nobody knows I'm screaming too Your name on the cup

And if I ever disappear

Look for me in the ink

In the loops of every letter I wrote On a paper cup,

in the sink

Your name on the cup,

and mine is nowhere to be found Your name on the

cup,

I'm

the

ghost that's passing

'round "Marcus. Your latte's up."