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1. LIGHT

may these words be the first
to find your ears.

the world is brighter than the sun
now that you’re here.

though your eyes will need some time to adjust
to the overwhelming light surrounding us,

i’ll give you everything i have.
i’ll teach you everything i know.
i promise i’ll do better.
i will always hold you close,
but i will learn to let you go.
i promise i’ll do better.
i will soften every edge,
i’ll hold the world to its best,
and i’ll do better.
with every heartbeat i have left
i will defend your every breath,
and i’ll do better.

’cause you are loved.
you are loved more than you know.

i hereby pledge all of my days
to prove it so.

though your heart is far too young to realize
the unimaginable light you hold inside,

i’ll give you everything i have.
i’ll teach you everything i know.
i promise i’ll do better.
i will always hold you close,
but i will learn to let you go.
i promise i’ll do better.
i will rearrange the stars,
pull ‘em down to where you are.
i promise, i’ll do better.
with every heartbeat i have left,
i’ll defend your every breath.
i promise i’ll do better.
i will soften every edge,
hold the world to its best.
i promise i’ll do better.
with every heartbeat i have left,
i’ll defend your every breath,
(i’ll do better.)

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2. YOU ARE ENOUGH

when we woke up
the world was figured out
beyond the beauty we’ve dreamt about.
this brilliant light is brighter than we’ve known,
without our darkness to prove it so.
still, we can’t help but to examine it,
to add our question marks to periods.
at the foot of our bed, we found an envelope…

“you are enough.”
these little words, somehow they’re changing us.
“you are enough.”
so we let our shadows fall away like dust.

when we grew up,
our shadows grew up too.
but they’re just old ghosts
that we grow attached to.
the tragic flaw is that they hide the truth

that you’re enough.
i promise you’re enough.
i promise you’re enough, i promise you.

“you are enough.”
these little words, somehow they’re changing us.
“you are enough,”
so we let our shadows fall away like dust.
“you are enough.”
these little words, somehow they’re changing us.
let it go, let it go, “you are enough.”
so we let our shadows fall away like dust.

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3. HEIRLOOM

you try your hardest to leave the past alone.
this crooked posture is all you’ve ever known.
it is the consequence of living in between
the weight of family and the pull of gravity.

you are so much more than your father’s son.
you are so much more than what i’ve become.

long before you were born there was light
hidden deep in these young, unfamiliar eyes.
a million choices, though little on their own,
become the heirloom of the heaviness you’ve known.

you are so much more than your father’s son.
you are so much more than what i’ve become,
what i’ve become,
what i’ve become.

you pressed rewind
for the thousandth time
when the tapes wore through.
so you memorized
those unscripted lines,
desperate for some kind of clue:
when the scale tipped,
when you inherited
a fight that you were born to lose.
it’s not your fault,
no, it’s not your fault,
i put this heavy heart in you.
i put this heavy heart in you.

you remind me of who i could have been,
had i been stronger and braver way back then.
a million choices, though little on their own,
became the heirloom of the heaviness we’ve known.

you are so much more than your father’s son.
you are so much more than the wars you’ve won.
you are so much more than your father’s son.
you are so much more than what i’ve become.

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4. THE PROJECTIONIST

when i was young i fell in love with story,
with the eleventh hour, with the blaze of glory.

the theater lights dim and all goes quiet.
in the darkest of rooms, light shines the brightest.

when hands are tied and clocks are ticking,
an audience convinced: we’re leaning in,
holding our breath again.

just when we thought the game was over
the music lifts and our dying solider lives!
and we breathe a sigh of relief.

we’re leaving, we’re leaving our shadows behind us now.
we’re leaving, we’re leaving it all behind for now.

but even dust was made to settle
and if we’re made of dust, then what makes us any different?
i guess we give what we’ve been given:
a family tree so very good at giving up
when we’ve had enough.
though truth is heavier than fiction,
gravity lifts as the projectionist rolls tape.
and it makes us brave again
and it makes us brave again
and it makes us brave.

so we’re leaving, we’re leaving our shadows behind us now.
we’re leaving, we’re leaving it all behind for now.
and it makes us brave again
and it makes us brave.
we’re leaving, we’re leaving ‘em all behind for now.

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5. IN THE EMBERS

we live and we die
like fireworks.
our legacies hide
in the embers.
may our stories catch fire
and burn bright enough to catch God’s eye.
we live and we die

like fireworks we pull apart the dark,
compete against the stars with all of our hearts.
’til our temporary brilliance turns to ash,
we pull apart the darkness while we can.

may we live and die
a valorous life.
may we write it all down
in cursive light.
so we pray we were made
in the image of a figure eight.
may we live and die

like fireworks we pull apart the dark,
compete against the stars with all of our hearts.
’til our temporary brilliance turns to ash,
we pull apart the darkness while we can.

like fireworks we pull apart the dark,
compete against the stars with all of our hearts.
’til our temporary brilliance turns to ash,
we pull apart the darkness while we can.

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