091 The Same Small Thunder
Lyrics
It was his sophomore summer, he came back home,
Found me brewing coffee, easy on my own
He asked, “Dad, why’d you leave the stage so soon?”
I smiled and watched the dust dance in the afternoon
“I wanted the kettle to set the pace,” I said,
“No alarm clock calling from beside the bed
So I left my good shoes by the door,
And let the mornings ask for nothing more”
The coffee stayed warm on the kitchen table,
His suitcase slept by the hallway light
Afternoon light moved slow and golden,
And I showed up quiet, most every night
A grown man’s shoes stood by the same old door,
He brought his girl home, laughing across the floor
When she stepped out, he asked me then,
“Dad, what made you marry Mom back when?”
“I don’t really know, it just sort of grew,” I sighed,
“Her coat found the chair by the back door light
Her cup found the sink, her shoes found the floor,
She became the room I came back for”
Her coffee cup stayed on her side of the sink,
Her coat kept its place in the back door light
Her key found the lock before I found the words,
And I came home easy, most every night
Now he comes back with a boy of his own,
Small hands stealing apples, racing across the lawn
He watched me laughing under the apple tree,
Then asked, “Was I that noisy when it was me?”
“One red truck stayed lost beneath the couch,
Long after the day had emptied out
When all that noise had folded into sleep,
Your little hand was still holding me”
The porch light hummed by the screen door,
One little pair of shoes, then one pair more
Rain on the laces, mud on the hem
The kettle breathed, the floorboards knew
The same small thunder passing through
And I knew that sound by then
The dust still danced in the afternoon,
The apples dropped soft in the yard’s last light
His boy held on to the back of his shirt,
And he slowed his walk without asking why
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