From the recording Pet Loss & Love That Remains
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
You were always the leader,
he learned by watching you.
He followed every pawprint,
kept you in his view.
[Pre-Chorus]
Now he stands in the hallway,
waiting at your spot,
looks back at me for answers,
then listens for your trot.
[Chorus]
How do I tell your brother
you’re not coming home?
How do I explain the quiet
while he chews his bone alone?
He brings me your old toy
and drops it at my feet--
he searches for your shadow.
This silence feels incomplete.
How do I tell your brother?
[Verse 2]
He circles your old blanket,
then looks back at the door.
He noses at the harness
hanging like before.
[Pre-Chorus]
I clip a single leash on,
he turns to where you’d be,
leans into all the silence,
and asks the room for you and me.
[Chorus]
How do I tell your brother
that waiting will not do?
How do I walk him softly
past the places built for two?
He holds your favorite tug
and will not let it go--
I say your name in whispers
so he knows I know.
How do I tell your brother?
[Bridge]
If love could make a language,
I’d teach him what is true.
[Chorus]
How do I tell your brother
the world has changed its tune?
I’ll keep both leashes with me
till his heart learns this new room.
I’ll lay beside his breathing,
I’ll wait the long night through--
How do I tell your brother
you’re gone and here, still too?
How do I tell your brother?