Extraordinary Dinner Party

Morning after snowstorm

Stand in the silence

Almost feel reborn all alone on the street

It’s a certain sort of stillness when the quiet surrounds you

The only sound your shovel on concrete

I remember those piles from the snow plows always seemed much bigger back when I was kid

Pushed all of the snow to the end of the driveway

I was the only person up in the neighborhood

Morning after snowstorm

I turned the ignition and I started my car

Morning after snowstorm

I scraped off my windshield with the edge of a credit card

I remember that drive into work

Still can hear the voice coming over the radio

Listen to our experts give the best tips for the next time you entertain dinner guests

I thought of the day in a tie in the kitchen I sat and I watched you put make-up on

Thought of the day in the basement when I played house

I felt ashamed that I’d stayed in my head in the same place for so long

Because I was afraid to change

But that’s not an excuse to stay

Morning after snowstorm

I climbed up on the snowbank and I stared at the neighborhood

Morning after snowstorm

I think I finally understood what they meant when they said there’s a calm after the storm

Saw my grandpa at his workbench building grandma’s bookshelf

Watched a woman walk her trash out to the street

Father alone on the highway

I heard the salt trucks and neighbors off to work

Saw my mother

Saw how history loops around all of these moments and then I saw you

In a dress there with your eyes open wide to put make-up on

Thought of the day in the basement that I played house

And I felt ashamed I’d ignored all the hands that extended before and around me

Because I was afraid to change

But that’s not an excuse to stay

It’s not an excuse