The list

Nick Torres

Shirts,pants, ties and coats
wreckage from a life worn out long ago
cardboard box, goodwill on the side
with things I haven’t worn since 1995
Dropped from a jacket pocket
landed on old scuffed up shoes
A folded page, still crisp and clean
asks should I do what I want to do

the writing of a younger man
with better eyes and steady hand
A list I made on a sleepless night
Trying to get forever right
She makes the coffee stronger than she likes
cause I drink it that way
She always bakes way too much
and gives most of it away

I was counting loves pros and cons
Summing up what I already knew
Like forever was a question mark
That needed proof that it was true
But every line I wrote back then
Still adds up honestly
I think I knew, just couldn’t believe
that you’re perfect for me

She loves to hear my half-written songs
sometimes she’ll even sing along
asks me to play the first one I wrote
she sings the melody note for note
Never had a harsh word for a stranger
Even on her hardest days
Leaves the porch light on past midnight
So I’ll never ever lose my way

I was counting loves pros and cons
Summing up what I already knew
Like forever was a question mark
That needed proof that it was true
But every line I wrote back then
Still adds up honestly
I think I knew, just couldn’t believe
that you’re perfect for me

Thirty years folded in my hand
now standing in the bedroom light
Every line still as beautiful
As it was on our wedding night

I was counting loves pros and cons
Summing up what I already knew
Like forever was a question mark
That needed proof that it was true
But every line I wrote back then
Still adds up honestly
I think I knew, just couldn’t believe
that you’re perfect for me