Almost

The town is just as busy, The morning comes the same. The baker sets the sign outside, The neighbors know their names. I find myself returning here, To places that I knew. But I don't take the seat I had, There's too much missing now from view. The path that leads around the park Still winds beside the trees. The people stop and talk awhile, The town moves easily. I used to watch from that old bench, And wonder what I'd find. Now I walk a little farther on, With yesterday behind. The house beyond the edge of town, Stands empty on its own. The neighbors who once gathered there, Now leave that place alone. The home in which that beauty lived, A place that felt so kind, Now waits for someone else's hands, To leave those days behind. We didn't have the answers, We didn't know the end. We only knew that some way, somehow, We were better than we'd been. Almost was the life we saw, Almost what we held on to, Almost was the reason, We were wanting something new. Almost was the morning, Almost was the day. Almost was the reason I found a different way. I don't know what tomorrow brings, I only know this part... Sometimes almost feels just like The beating of your heart. If I had one more afternoon, One more walk beside the square, Would I say the things I never said? Would I ask her to stay there? Or would I let the moment live The way it was meant to be? A little more than yesterday, But less than what we'd dreamed. Kate writes from her grandma's farm, She says she's doing well. She tells me about little things, We'll see what time will tell. I read each word she sends to me, Then fold them all away. Because a letter isn't quite the same As her being here each day. Jimmy says the band is booked, The dances carry through. The music fills the social hall, With faces old and new. He says that I should come around, That I should join the crowd. But some things change when someone leaves, And silence feels too loud. The town keeps turning like it did, The days keep passing by. The seasons change, the streets move on, But I still wonder why. They talk about the days ahead, The things that are to come. But I still hear the words she said, After all that came undone. Almost was the life we saw, Almost what we held on to, Almost was the reason, We were wanting something new. Almost was the morning, Almost was the day. Almost was the reason I found a different way. I don't know what tomorrow brings, I only know this part... Sometimes almost feels just like The beating of your heart. The path is still beside the road, The town still looks the same. But all the places that I once knew Don't hold up to that claim. The house is dark above the town, The days move by so fast. The world has changed around me now, But I remember what has passed. Some things are never really gone... They fade from view, at most. When your life has changed as mine has changed, They just become... Almost.