Hey… hey… Come stay closer… There’s always room. We didn’t stand alone that night, The fire told us where to be, One fed the flame, one shaped the stone, One watched the child, one watched the sea. No name was louder than another, No hands were idle in the glow, You didn’t ask what you were worth— You knew it by what you could show. We learned each other by the motion, Passing tools from palm to palm, Every voice found space to enter, Every breath became a calm. No mirror asked me who I was, No tally counted what I owned— I mattered ‘cause I helped you stand, And you helped me get home. By the fire, we belong, Not by title, not by name, If my hands can make it easier, We are already just the same. No surplus self, no proving ground, Just care moving hand to hand— We matter because we help, That’s how we learned to stand. Joy wasn’t loud, it wasn’t rare, It showed up when the work got done, When laughter rose with tired arms And night felt lighter than the sun. Nobody kept what wasn’t needed, Nobody left another cold, The circle held us just enough— Not too much, not too old. I lift the stone— You feed the flame— We don’t survive the same alone. Hand to hand… Heart to heart… This is where we start. By the fire, we belong, Where the work and laughter meet, Every task a quiet song, Every help makes us complete. No gold to weigh, no debt to keep, Just warmth that spreads when hands connect— We matter most because we help, That was our first respect. Stay… The fire’s still warm… Tomorrow needs us too.
