From the recording Pet Loss & Love That Remains
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Your bowl is in the cupboard, I put it there today,
Your bed waits in the hallway I cannot give away.
Your picture’s on the mantel, but one thing will not move--
It hangs where you last left it, like it still has proof to prove.
[Pre-Chorus]
I reach, then let my hand fall back,
I practice doing nothing.
[Chorus]
It’s the leash by the door,
still waiting for a walk.
A question and an answer
I can hear inside my talk.
It’s a promise I keep breaking
every time I pass it by.
It’s the leash by the door,
and the reason that I cry.
[Verse 2]
Half a bag of treats still clipped beside the keys,
A frayed rope toy with threads that curl like little seas.
Your tag sits on a ring, a number I still know,
A sweater on the chair with fur that will not go.
[Pre-Chorus]
I box and then unbox again,
I cannot tie the ending.
[Chorus]
It’s the leash by the door,
still waiting for a walk.
A question and an answer
I can hear inside my talk.
It’s a promise I keep breaking
every time I pass it by.
It’s the leash by the door,
and the reason that I cry.
[Bridge]
The vet receipt is folded, the timer still reminds.
I turn it off at midnight, leave the rest behind.
One day I’ll lift it from the hook, but I am not there yet;
I hold the air beneath it so I do not forget.
[Chorus]
It’s the leash by the door,
still waiting for a walk.
It’s the truth I keep on carrying
in the corners of my talk.
It’s the promise I keep breaking
every time I walk on by.
It’s the leash by the door,
and the plainest reason why.
If love must live with leaving, in the things we can’t restore,
I’ll learn it slowly, standing by the leash beside the door.