[Intro]
[Instrumentation: prepared piano taps two cup-like notes before a low organ answers]

[Verse 1]
Mrs. Quinn removes the line
And folds the tape in halves of five.
She says, “No more machines tonight.
They measure wrong and squeeze too tight.”
I tell her Hale should speak with her.
She says, “He speaks in calendar words.
Bring something bitter, weak and warm—
Then sit where I can see the door.”

[Chorus]
Paper cup communion,
Coffee thin as winter rain.
No silver, wine or union,
Only warmth against the pain.
Paper cup communion—
Your hand around my hand remains.

[Verse 2]
The vending machine keeps forty cents,
Then groans as if it might repent.
I bring two cups, one lid, one straw;
She laughs and says, “That’s hospital law.”
She tells me of a coastal town,
A red front door now painted brown.
A daughter who still calls at noon,
And hates that word they say too soon.

[Chorus]
Paper cup communion,
Coffee thin as winter rain.
No silver, wine or union,
Only warmth against the pain.
Paper cup communion—
Your hand around my hand remains.

[Piano Interlude]
[Instrumentation: prepared piano plays the rhythm of two cups touching gently]

[Duet: EVELYN + MARA]
EVELYN:
Do not tell me I am brave;
Bravery is not what I gave.
I am tired, I am sore,
I do not want one doorway more.

MARA:
I will not dress your fear in gold,
Or call you strong for growing old.
I can stay until the call,
I can sit and say nothing at all.

EVELYN:
Then say my name when breath goes thin.

MARA:
Evelyn Quinn. I’m listening.

[Bridge]
Her daughter answers on the third,
The room grows still around each word.
No speech is grand, no hurt is healed;
A kettle whistles through the field

[Second Bridge]
Of signal crossing town and wire—
“Mother, rest. I’m coming by.”
Evelyn smiles, eyes half-closed:
“She always says she’s on the road.”

[Final Chorus]
Paper cup communion,
Coffee cooling by the frame.
No silver absolution,
Only someone saying your name.
Paper cup communion—
Two blue gloves, one final flame.

[Outro]
[Instrumentation: soft organ answers the piano with the album’s three-note motif]

At five twelve her breathing slows.
At five thirteen the silence grows.
I say her name. I hold her hand.
The coffee cools where two cups stand.