Your Absence Now

I catch myself holding the door open wide For a person who isn't right there by my side It's a glitch in my brain a muscle bound ghost The habit of us is what hurts me the most I still buy the milk with the date furthest out 'Cause you were the one who had worries and doubt About things turning sour before they were used Now I'm standing in aisle five just looking confused It isn't a poem it isn't a place Just the grit in my teeth at the end of the day It's the way that the bed feels too firm on the right And the way that the house is too bright in the light Your absence now is ringing in my ears The high pitched frequency of all of these years It's not a soft shadow or a light in the dark It's a cold metal bench in an empty fenced park I'm not holding on and I'm not letting go I'm just stuck in the static of a dead radio Yeah your absence is a noise I can't drown A heavy thick pressure that's weighing me down You had a scar on your elbow from a fall in the street And you hated the feeling of socks on your feet These aren't the beautiful things people say They're just the jagged facts that won't move out the way I still hear the specific sharp click of your jaw When you get hit with a feeling of wonder or awe Now the jaw is gone and the elbow is far And I'm just a witness to the way things are Don't tell me about seasons of healing with time I'm not looking for a mountain I'm supposed to climb I'm just living in a room where the air has gone stale Like a ship that's forgotten the use of sails It's boring and heavy and ugly and real And I'm tired of trying to decide how to feel Your absence now is ringing in my ears The high pitched frequency of all of these years It's not a soft shadow or a light in the dark It's a cold metal bench hmm in an empty fence park I'm not holding on and I'm not letting go I'm just stuck in the static of a dead radio I'll probably buy the same milk again next week Can listen for the floorboards to offer a squeak But the house is just wood and the milk is just white And your absence is simply the end of the light Hmm hmm A sudden sharp stop