[Male baritone, unhurried. Understated delivery, bowed cello, soft piano. Sparse instrumental fade to quiet.] [Verse 1] I check the little window — porch glistening, steps dark with drizzle. [Chorus — gentle, spacious] Some things don’t ask permission to leave their shine. [Verse 2] Out past the last road I whistle into the dark. A cricket replies. Between us, the universe forgets who started the song. [Verse 3] The crow drops a walnut on the road. Waits for a truck. This is not a metaphor. Or it is. Either way, the crow eats. [Verse 4 — playful, understated] I try to sneak off. Fun trails me like a shadow — that little bugger. Even knows my shortcuts home, waiting with two empty chairs. [Chorus — open slightly, then recede] Some things don’t ask permission to leave their shine. [Verse 5 — intimate, unhurried] Almost September. Still here, sitting on the couch with you, almost there. Not many more years to go. We still breathe for some reason. [Instrumental Outro — Bowed cello, soft piano, fade to quiet.] —————- Lyrics: Mario Caoile
