You found a chipped white mug beside me
It held the last warm dregs of morning
A roadside café through the weather
Your thumb traced where the glaze kept falling
You parked where faded arrows said Go
Past a lit window in the snow
At a roadside table by the doorway
You found the chipped white mug at morning
[Pre-
The highway hummed beneath your boots
The dashboard counted miles in blue
A folded paper marked the routes
And every coffee stain pointed you
Hold that chipped white mug beside the wheel
Let its tired handle follow every road
You keep the quiet courage of the sea
And carry morning where the highway stole
You crossed a causeway, buckets rattling
Low lamps made ribbons on the windshield
A hardware clerk waved you through the station
Your thermos ticked beside the radio
[Pre-
The engine shuddered, then pulled free
Rain needles stitched the passenger glass
A red-tailed signal flashed to me
And pointed one more town to pass
Keep that chipped white cup beside the wheel
Let its rough handle warm against your palm
You gather scraps of sunlight from the steel
And feed the miles until they lose their form
You parked beside a diesel truck
Its sleeper hissed beneath the awning
A white-haired cook lifted one black cup
And studied how the evening kept on warning
Set the broken-rimmed mug beside the wheel
Let its dull handle knock against the frame
You keep the stubborn courage of the steel
And lend the long dark miles a borrowed name
You passed a church with one lit window
A gravel lot held three abandoned cars
The wind snapped shutters in the shadows
And scattered salt across the pavement scars
Lift that chipped café mug from the sill
Let its rough handle settle in your hand
You carry every storm across the hill
And leave a small lamp burning on the land
At dawn you found a harbor full of gulls
The tide had nudged your boat toward the pier
A ferry bell rang out across the hulls
And sunlight opened on the water clear
Hold that chipped white mug beside the wheel
Let its last warm circle light the road
You keep the patient courage of the sea
And bring the harbor gently to the shore
The lamp goes dark, the coffee cools
The narrow cup rests safe and still
A harbor bell announces the reveals
And morning climbs above the distant hill
