The Grain Revealed

[Verse 1]
The half-darned sailcloth on the basement loom
Casts a shadow ghost across the room
The air still smells of cedar, oil, and him
A faded pencil line along the trim
Says “Juniper, September, two feet tall”
Right next to where your fist went through the wall.

[Chorus]
And I’m sanding down the floorboards where you fought
To see the grain that all that pressure bought
And maybe if you stay, we’ll see it through
The way I think they wanted to.

[Verse 2]
A single earring, pearl and silver-plate
Beneath the rusted hinge-pin on the gate
A grocery list from June behind the stove
The careful, looping cursive of her love
It just says, “Don’t forget the milk again.”
A whole life measured out in ballpoint pen.

[Chorus]
And I’m sanding down the floorboards where you fought
To see the grain that all that pressure bought
And maybe if you stay, we’ll see it through
The way I think they wanted to.

[Bridge]
Is a history a haunting? Or a warp to hold?
A story they abandoned, turning dust to gold?

[Outro]
I'm sanding down the floorboards…
Revealing the grain.