What the Lid Kept

It was in the back of the cabinet,

behind the things I use.

Dusty outside. The lid:

when I unscrewed it,

the seal still smelled like someone's coffee—

not mine. Old. Specific.

I held it in the kitchen

without moving for a while.

Whoever last filled it

is not someone I can call now.

Or won't. I can't decide

which one it is.

The smell just lives in the rubber—

brown, specific, nobody's anymore.

I set it on the counter.

Kept clearing the cabinet.

Left it there.