Morning ... Birds ... A car Somewhere Down the road ... Wind Moving Through leaves ... No music Yet ... Just Life ... I open The door ... And nothing Happens ... I laugh ... Nothing Happens ... After all That ... All those lions All those tomorrows All those What ifs All those nights All those doors I checked All those things I tried To hold ... Morning ... Just Morning ... And somewhere Inside me The old voice Whispers Careful ... I hear you ... Thank you ... But look ... No lion ... We can walk ... One step ... Then another ... The world Doesn't suddenly Become safe ... That's not What happened ... People Will still leave Storms Will still come Bodies Will still hurt Plans Will change Things Will break Someone I love Will someday Not be here ... And neither Will this body ... I know ... But why Would I spend This morning Mourning A night That hasn't come? ... Oh ... There it is ... The difference ... Fear said Something Might happen ... Life says Something Is Happening ... This ... This breath ... This sky ... This ridiculous Bird Singing Like it owns The whole tree ... This hand ... This heartbeat ... This person Walking Beside me ... This ... How much Life Did I miss Preparing For Life To go wrong? ... No ... We're not Doing regret Remember? ... Smile ... You're here ... That's enough ... ... Fear not ... I used to hear Those words Like an order ... STOP BEING AFRAID ... Which is funny ... Because being Afraid That I shouldn't Be afraid Is still Fear ... Maybe Fear not Was never A threat ... Maybe It sounds More like Come outside ... Look ... You're here ... Fear not ... Not because Nothing painful Will happen ... Fear not Because you Don't have to Experience it Before It arrives ... Fear not Because tomorrow Doesn't need Today's breath ... Fear not Because the lion That isn't here Doesn't need To be fought ... Fear not Because love Doesn't become More precious By rehearsing Its loss ... Fear not Because Life Isn't waiting Somewhere After Everything Becomes safe ... Life Is This ... ... The heartbeat Begins ... Not ALARM ... Drum ... Boom ... Boom ... Boom ... Listen ... The same heart That spent All those years Warning me Is playing Music ... Oh ... The alarm Was never The enemy ... It was Life Trying To protect Life ... We just Asked it To protect Too much ... Tomorrow My reputation My beliefs My story Everything I called Mine ... No wonder It screamed ... It thought The whole universe Was its job ... It's not ... ... Fear You can rest ... I'll still Need you ... If the branch Breaks Outside the fire Wake me ... If danger Comes Move this body ... Run Fight Freeze Live ... And when The danger Passes ... Come home ... Rest ... That's all ... ... We have traveled A long way Haven't we? ... From a branch Breaking In the darkness ... To a little boy On a wooden pew ... To lions That never came ... To tomorrow To screens To crowds To God To death To me ... Me ... That little word We spent A lifetime Protecting ... And underneath it ... Before it ... Here ... Still Here ... I AM ... Breathing ... Being ... Life ... ... I don't know What tomorrow Will bring ... There was a time Those words Would have Terrified me ... Now They sound Like freedom ... I don't know ... And I don't Need to ... Tomorrow Can keep Tomorrow ... This breath Is here ... This step Is here ... This love Is here ... I AM ... Here ... ... Fear not ... Not Never feel fear ... Fear not ... Don't build Your house Inside it ... Let the alarm Ring When the fire Is real ... Then When the fire Is gone ... Let it Stop ... ... A bird Takes off ... Wings Against Morning air ... For a second I watch it ... No cage No map No promise ... Just Flight ... And I realize I don't feel Like a new person ... I feel Like Life Without So much person In the way ... ... The road Is open ... The door Is open ... My hands Are open ... And somewhere Far behind me An alarm Finally Stops ... Silence ... Then Birds ... Breath ... One heartbeat ... Fear Not ... Live
