When Silence Leaves

Some things leave with slammed front doors,

Some leave clothes scattered across the floor.

But some disappear without making a sound— You don't know they're gone

till you turn around.

SOME THINGS LEAVE QUIETLY,

No goodbye, no warning sign.

One day they're standing beside of me,

Next they're somewhere behind.

No crash, no final scene,

No last words telling me why— Some things don't say they're leaving.

SOME THINGS LEAVE QUIETLY.

Used to know a friend I'd call any night,

Then once a week,

once a month, then out of sight.

Nobody fought, nobody chose a side,

Life opened up a distance neither noticed getting wide.

Corner store closed where we wasted our change,

Old neighborhood somehow doesn't look the same.

Dream I swore I'd chase got lost along the way— Didn't watch

it disappear, just stopped saying its name.

Did it leave?

( When?) I don't know.

( Did you say goodbye?) No.

That's the strange part.

Pictures lose people while staying the same,

Numbers in my phone I don't recognize by name.

Places I loved become somebody else's place,

Even mirrors slowly introduce another face.

Maybe losing isn't always something torn,

Maybe something leaves while something else is born.

We notice thunder, never notice changing air— Then reach beside ourselves and

realize it isn't there.

What happened to the piano?

( LISTEN.) What happened to the strings?

( GONE.) What happened to who I was?

Still here somewhere.

I thought losing always sounded like breaking.

Maybe that's why I missed so much leaving.

Funny thing about an empty space…

…you remember what belonged there.

SOME THINGS LEAVE QUIETLY—

BUT THEY DON'T LEAVE EMPTY-HANDED!

Every person, every place left something here with me!

Every road that disappeared still changed the way I see!

Maybe nothing stays forever— BUT NOTHING LEAVES COMPLETELY!

I CAN HEAR EVERY MISSING PIECE

COMING BACK THROUGH ME!

Some things leave quietly.

( BUT SOMETHING STAYS.)