Nothing New, Exactly

It starts the same way
It always does
A familiar pause
Before the sound

You say the line
Like it’s the first time
I let it land
Like it might be

There’s comfort in knowing
What comes next
Even when it’s not
What you’d choose

I don’t interrupt
I don’t rush
Some patterns hold
Because we let them

There’s nothing new
Exactly
Nothing I didn’t see

Nothing breaks
Nothing moves
Nothing asking more of me

I notice the turn
Before it shifts
The quiet stretch
That says enough

I’ve learned the distance
Between surprise
And repetition
You don’t fight

It’s not regret
It’s not relief
It’s recognising
What this is

There’s nothing new
Exactly
Nothing I didn’t see

Nothing breaks
Nothing moves
Nothing asking more of me

Some things repeat
Not because they’re wrong
But because they fit
The space they’re in

Nothing new
Exactly
Nothing I didn’t see

I saw it
Coming