[Verse 1] She's racing snails in the garden again Timer in hand, spreadsheet on her lap "Three point four seconds! A new record!" I want to tell her they're different snails But she's been timing them every day Since the hospice called about mom (Some things are harder to measure) [Chorus] Gastropod Olympics in the rain Each silver trail a data point She's graphing grief in Excel cells While mom's time slides away (Row 473: Speed declining) (Column B: Days remaining) [Verse 2] "This one's Maurice, he's getting faster" She points to a shell I saw her place Fresh from the sidewalk this morning Her hair is wet, she missed work again To run these trials in the rain I bring her coffee, it grows cold While she measures memories in mollusk gold [Bridge] In her bedroom I found the charts Racing snails mapped against heart rates Two lines falling, one shell at a time (Some correlations hurt to find) And I finally understand... She's trying to prove that nothing Has to end if you time it right [Verse 3] Mom used to garden here Taught us the names of every flower Now there's just snail trails and stopwatches And my sister's voice getting hoarse "Six point seven! They're slowing down!" (Or maybe time's speeding up) [Final Chorus] Gastropod Olympics in the rain The stopwatch finally slips away She looks at me, soaking wet "I can't make the numbers stay..." And for the first time since the call We let the snails choose their path Through the garden mom loved best Some races aren't meant to last [Outro] There's a new spreadsheet on her laptop "Garden Restoration Plan: Phase 1" And Maurice has found the daisies (Row 1: Things mom would have loved)
