We woke around three A.M.
Got up and we got dressed again
I said, "I'd like to walk you home
And stop for coffee"
And we set about

Collecting up your scattered things

Your coat, your hat

Your scarf and rings

Two books, your sisters necklace and the key



That I'd had made for you

Down at the hardware store

As a gift, that I'd given you for

No particular occasion

Nothing special, just a gesture



Of my feelings and we wound on down

The creaking stairs were very loud

And you dragged your outstretched fingers

Down the walls and all the windows



And I went first and held the door

It was colder that night than the nights before

The kind of cold that steals your breath

Before you expect it



And you took my gloveless hand in yours

One pocket shared to keep both warm

And with your other hand, you pinched your coat tight at the collar



And I thought it's too cold by far to snow

The sidewalk wasn't salted though

And we slipped somewhere

The ice took hold in intermittent patches



And so we made our careful way

Across the park to twenty eighth

And into Rosa's Diner

Where they kept old coffee hot



And the sign in front said, "Seat Yourself"

And so we went and sat ourselves

And you chose the biggest booth

Because you said, "We are a party"



And a lonely light was flickering

Something off in the wiring

So it worked just like a broken thing

Trying hard not to be broken



And you said to me, "Remember this"

And so I still remember it

And though you didn't say why

I believed you had a reason



And I'm thinking 'bout that now

As I'm grinding up our coffee grounds

In the bright kitchen of our house

As you, sleep in this morning