Umbrella on the Shelf

Rain wrote silver lines on the window glass;

While I traced old paper letting minutes pass;

In a sleepy aisle where the lamplight fell;

You returned an umbrella and a half-spoken spell;

Your smile was quiet, your coat still wet;

Like a song I hadn't finished yet;

The thunder softened when you said my name;

And the whole wide room felt new again;

Under the rain, under the light;

You were a stranger stepping into my name;

With a folded umbrella and eyes like glue;

I didn′t know the weather could lead me to you under the rain;

Where the old bugs hunt;

Two lonely hearts in a borrowed drum;

One small hello, one warm surprise;

And suddenly the storm had a softer sky;

You said you found it by the corner door;

Beneath a shelf of maps and a creaking floor;

I left too late, then looked away;

As if my heartbeat had something new to say;

You brushed your fingers past a spine of blue;

Like the books themselves were reaching to;

The air grew sweet with dust and pine;

And every cord

I held felt like a sign;

Under the lane, under the light;

You were a stranger stepping into my night;

With a folded umbrella and eyes like blue;

I didn't know the weather could lead me to you;

Under the lane where the old books hung;

Two lonely hearts in a borrowed drum;

A hello, one warm surprise;

And suddenly the storm had a softer sky;

If love arrives like a sudden shower;

Sheltered by a chapter, minute by hour;

Let the pages turn and the rain drops in;

I'll wait where the bells of the bookstore sing;

You can leave if you want;

But the door stands near;

And I'll keep the umbrellas;

When you reappear;

Under the rain;

Under the light;

You were a stranger;

I didn't know what could leave me deeper than you;

Where the old books haunt you;

Lonely hearts in a bottle drum;

One small hello, one warm surprise;

And suddenly the storm had a softer sky;

And I'm not alone;

So if you come back when the sidewalk shines;

I'll be easy out between the second hand lines;

With your umbrella and a hopeful heart;