Slow & Steady - Sleeping At Last

You carved our initials

Into these family trees

But when the branches are bare and broken

Love is so hard to reach

We’ve learned to brace for the worst

And to read the last pages first

Surrender feels safe

Maybe the soul is the soil that holds the fallen seed

Or the light pouring down in between the rain clouds

Daring life to reach;

Or maybe it’s the rings in the trunk of the tree

A birthmark time will leave

To measure the past

But we can’t dream when we’re wide awake

Or fall in love with a heart too strong to break

Faith is expensive to taste

And time is borrowed loose change

That’s already been spent

Maybe the soul is the tone of voice

That unearthed the words that we needed…

Maybe the soul is a suitcase that holds the backup plan —

A collection of keys and the patience we need

To start again

Maybe it’s the thresholds that swallow us whole

As we learn to let go

In spite of the dirt on our clothes