Don't Take the Good Away

The house finally sleeps at night,
Your sweater on the chair.
Bread on the counter, a name on the mail,
And I keep checking if it's real.
God, I know I prayed for this.
Please don't take the good away.

I used to hear the floorboards complain
And wonder who would leave by dawn.
I kept a bag half-packed by the closet,
Listening for a slammed car door.
Now I hear you in the kitchen,
Humming where the hurt was stored —
No yelling through the hallway,
No suitcase by the stairs.
Your toothbrush leans next to mine,
Small shoes wait by the wall.
But my hands still count what love could cost;
I flinch when I stop feeling lost.

I'm scared because I'm happy,
I'm shaking because I'm held.
I don't know how to trust a blessing
That doesn't already sound like farewell.

Don't take the good away,
Not the porch light, not my name.
I have learned to live with losing;
Lord, don't take the good away.

There's a picture taped beside the fridge —
You're laughing, flour on your face.
My phone used to mean emergency;
Now it buzzes, "bring milk on the way."
A birthday card sits open,
Crooked hearts in crayon blue,
And I read my name in a child's hand
Like God was writing too.
I used to call the dishes clutter,
The socks without a pair —
Now a normal, ordinary Tuesday
Feels like walking from a tomb.

If the money leaves, leave the table.
If the road gets dark, leave the song.
If my courage runs out in the driveway,
Leave one voice that calls me home.
If the old fear knocks at midnight,
Let the lamp stay on in the hall.
I am not asking for perfect —
I am asking not to lose it all.

Take the pride I used to hide in,
Take the walls I built from pain,
Take the way I wait for thunder
When the sky is clear again.
Leave the laughter in the hallway,
Leave the morning coming through —
If You must teach me surrender,
Don't start with this good thing.

Don't take the good away,
Not the porch light, not my name.
I know loss; teach me to stay.
Lord, don't take the good away.

The house finally sleeps at night,
Your sweater on the chair.
Let this beautiful stay.
Please don't take the good away.