Every night around eleven
The piano starts beyond my wall
A lamp glows under my doorway
While quiet footsteps cross next door
I picture someone by the window
Playing to an empty room
Some nights the melody wanders
Some nights it stays in one place
I never see a shadow pass
I only know the sound
We never meet
Still the room feels occupied
A few notes through the wall
Can change the shape of a night
Some people enter your life
Without opening the door
Winter turns into spring
The hallway gets new paint
A bicycle appears downstairs
Then disappears again
The piano keeps the same hours
As steady as the clock
Then one Tuesday evening
The building stays unusually quiet
No piano
No footsteps
Just the hum of the elevator
And rain against the glass
We never meet
Still the room feels occupied
A few notes through the wall
Can change the shape of a night
Some people enter your life
Without opening the door
A week later I knock next door
For the first time
The apartment stands empty
Dust on the mailbox
And a silent piano bench