I wake before the light comes in, The room is blue and still. Coffee cooling by my side, A stack of quiet bills. Your shoes wait by the doorway, One lace undone again. I almost bend to fix it... Then wonder where to begin. "Will you be home tonight?" "Of course I will," I say. I hope my voice still sounds like home When everything else may change. --- Outside the world keeps turning. Prices climb unseen. Everything gets heavier... Without making a sound. --- Can I keep my word If the ground won't stay the same? Can I be the man you see, Or does he fade away? I don't dream of riches. I don't ask for more. I just need today to hold together Inside the life we've built. Can I keep my word... Long enough for you To believe this world is kinder Than the one I struggle through? --- There's a crack inside the window Where the winter finds its way. I tell you that it's nothing... Though I feel it every day. We count coins inside a jar. You laugh like they are gold. Dinner isn't much tonight... But no one leaves the table cold. You never see the sleepless nights, Or every quiet choice. How "enough" is built from love... And hope without a voice. --- I carry fear like groceries. Quietly. Alone. Hoping nothing falls apart Before we make it home. You lean into my shoulder Like it's made of stone. So I stand a little taller... Even when I don't. Children shouldn't measure life By worries left unsaid. They should count the stars above... Not numbers in our heads. --- Can I keep my word If tomorrow asks for more? If every careful step I take Still leads to one more door? If love could pay the rent, I'd never owe a dime. But love can't change the headlines... Or bargain with the times. Still I'll keep on trying. Still I'll rise each day. Because keeping my word... Is the only wealth No one can take away. --- Morning comes in softly. Light across the floor. Your shoes are by the doorway. I tie the lace this time. You reach and take my hand. We step into the morning... One small hand in mine. One promise... Still alive.
