Gentle As You Go

Butterfly Division

You used to laugh at people
Stuck in traffic
Stuck in lines
Now you stand there with your coffee
Just grateful you’ve got time
Thought you’d outrun every heartbreak
Sleep through every storm
Now you’re calling up your brother
Just to hear his voice is warm

Life humbles you as you age
Takes your sharp words
Smooths the edges
All the hills you swore you’d die on
Turn to stories
Turn to lessons
You start saying “I don’t know”
A little more each day
Life humbles you
Life humbles you as you age

You used to roll your eyes at parents
Kids melting on the floor
Now you’re on your knees at midnight
Wiping tears up by the door
You used to judge the quiet ones
As if silence meant they’d lost
Now you bite your tongue in traffic
Counting blessings
Not the cost

Life humbles you as you age
Takes your sharp words
Smooths the edges
All the hills you swore you’d die on
Turn to stories
Turn to lessons
You start saying “I was wrong”
A little more each day
Life humbles you
Life humbles you as you age

You thought “forever” meant forever
Till a call came late one night
Now you hold on just a little softer
Leave the dishes
Dim the light (oh)
Every name you took for granted
Every hand you used to shake
Becomes a sacred little moment
You’re afraid you’ll never make

Life humbles you as you age
Takes your sharp words
Smooths the edges
All the hills you swore you’d die on
Turn to stories
Turn to blessings
You start saying “thank you” low
For every ordinary day
Life humbles you
Life humbles you as you age