Last Day, Old Friend

The box is packed, the drawer is bare But your laugh's still hanging in the air Twenty years of nine-o'clocks beside you Your coffee ring tattooed into that desk You'd catch my eye when meetings ran too long One raised brow that said the rest They'll hire someone for the chair But not for what was there Last day, old friend — hand in the badge Take the long way out the door You made the gray years golden just by showing up That's what the speeches never say — so here's ours Last day, old friend You knew which printer jammed, who needed checking Kept a candy drawer for anybody's worst week The hum of this whole floor will sound different Monday's gonna look for you and me We split a thousand lunches here Let's split one farewell cheer Last day, old friend — hand in the badge Take the long way out the door You made the gray years golden just by showing up That's what the speeches never say — so here's ours Last day, old friend Ten years on, some new kid at your desk Will never know whose shoulders held this place But we will — every time the elevator opens And it isn't your face Last day, old friend — hand in the badge Take the long way out the door You made the gray years golden just by showing up That's what the speeches never say — so here's ours Last day, old friend Lights off, door locked, one last call — Same time Friday, after all