Back to the Balcony

Back to the balcony

Your airport tag still hangs from the zipper
Rain on the rail, your hand getting wetter
Boda headlights curl below our floor
You say, "We've done this fight before"
Plastic chair leaning by the doorway
You call from miles, then leave the same way
But tonight your suitcase meets our wall
And I hear the truth beneath it all

No more throwing words over a weak line
No more keeping score across the white time
Come sit close, let the whole town pass
Tell me what you meant, not what you said fast

Back to the balcony, come talk to me
Leave the old goodbye where the rain can be
Back to the balcony, stay honestly
We can make a home from the way we speak

Tuesday, your flight was late at Entebbe
You found my note underneath the kettle
I moved the chair so your knees had room
Put your phone face down beside your shoe
When the old heat rose, I held my breath
Said, "I won't win this and call it love"
You took my hand before the rain came hard
And we let one silence do its part

Back to the balcony, come talk to me
Leave the old goodbye where the rain can be
Back to the balcony, stay honestly
We can make a home from the way we speak

It was never the rail, never the view
Never the city pulling me back to you
That plastic chair kept a place for two
Now it holds the truth we are learning to do
No running from the pause, no reaching for blame
We say the tender thing and let it have a name

Back to the balcony, come talk to me
Leave the old goodbye where the rain can be
Back to the balcony, choose honestly
We are making home from the way we speak
Back to the balcony, if the miles return
I'll meet you with a question, not a match to burn
Back to the balcony, stay here with me
Not because we break, but because we've learned to breathe

The airport tag can fade away
The chair stays warm at the end of day
Back to the balcony, quietly
You and me, speaking carefully