A Little Less

[Verse 1]
I bought the blue bowl at the corner shop
The day you called from the hospital lot
You said, “Keep it, I’ll be home by June”
Now it holds spare keys and a bent teaspoon
The chipped white mug from our rented place
Still has your thumbprint under the glaze
I tell myself I’m clearing a shelf
Then find one more little piece of myself

[Pre-Chorus]
A box is easy to close
A memory won’t stay put
I can give away the thing
But I can’t give away that afternoon

[Chorus]
I want less, I want room to breathe
One coat, one cup, a quiet key
But every object keeps a day alive
And I can’t throw out the proof we tried
I want less, I mean it when I say
Still I turn that old jar away
From the donation bag, back to the drawer
I want a little less—and miss you more

[Verse 2]
Your recipe card, all butter and ink
The grocery list with “pears” in your slant
A ticket stub from the county fair
Two paper crowns folded flat in there
The lamp we fixed with a butter knife
The green thread spool from your sewing kit
I hold each one up, ask what it’s worth
Then hear your laugh from the first-floor kitchen

[Pre-Chorus]
A box is easy to close
A memory won’t stay put
I can give away the thing
But I can’t give away that afternoon

[Chorus]
I want less, I want room to breathe
One coat, one cup, a quiet key
But every object keeps a day alive
And I can’t throw out the proof we tried
I want less, I mean it when I say
Still I turn that old jar away
From the donation bag, back to the drawer
I want a little less—and miss you more

[Breakdown]
Take the cracked plate, keep the Sunday light
Take the old coat, keep the walk back at night
Take the paper crown, keep your crooked grin
Take the whole damn box—where do I begin?

[Verse 3]
Today I gave the lamp to Mara upstairs
She said it warmed up the corner just right
I kept one photo, not the whole stack
And left the empty frame on the shelf out back
Maybe a home can hold what it needs
Maybe a heart can loosen its grip
I’m learning the difference, one small thing
At a time, with your name on my lips

[Final Chorus]
I want less, I want room to breathe
One coat, one cup, a quiet key
I’ll keep the bowl, let the rest move on
A memory’s mine when the object is gone
I want less, and I’m finding a way
To honor the love without making it stay
Some things can leave; some stories endure
I want a little less—and love you more

[Outro]
One blue bowl by the kitchen sink
Enough to remember, enough to let go