When You Loved Me

[tape saturation, subtle analog warmth] Verse 1 When you loved me, coffee tasted better, I did not notice how the silence stretched. Your jacket on the chair meant you were coming back, Now it is just a jacket I cannot throw out yet. I memorized the way you hung your keys, The sound of you meant I was not alone. Funny how a person becomes furniture, Then one day the furniture is all you own. Pre-Chorus I left lights on as if you might forget your way, Held small routines like prayers against the truth. By the time I learned you were already gone, The room had memorized your absence for me. Chorus When you loved me, I thought I was steady ground, Built a life I believed would stay. You slipped out slowly, step by careful step, Never loud enough to make me turn your way. Love didn’t crash, it thinned until it shook, And now I’m standing in the place you left behind. Verse 2 You stayed for chores, calendars, errands, Handled tasks but forgot my face. You kissed my forehead like checking off a box, Turned the news on so we wouldn’t speak. There was a pattern to the kindness I called love, But patterns don’t keep beds from staying cold. Chorus When you loved me, I trusted us like gravity, Holding steady without asking why. You left in fragments, quiet and efficient, Didn’t even turn to say goodbye. Love didn’t end, it simply starved for too long, And now I’m here at a table set for two. Bridge (quick, sharp) I kept your mug, your shirt, your toothbrush waiting. You traded mornings for the easy exit. I played our song till the speakers trembled, Trying to find the moment you slipped away. Final Chorus (1-line lift) When you loved me, I thought showing up was enough. Now I’m learning how to stand on my own.