Leave Room for Mercy

[Verse 1]
You saw the kid at the curb
Spitting words like broken glass
You crossed the street and called him cruel
I watched you turn your back too fast

But I saw his hand in his sleeve
Shaking like a caught-up bird
He wore that anger like a coat
Heavy as the worst thing heard

[Pre-Chorus]
What if the hurt came first?
What if the mask was learned?
What if the fire in their mouth
Was a place their trust got burned?

[Chorus]
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
The hardest heart can still crack open
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
That’s where the real change grows

[Verse 2]
There’s a woman at the checkout line
Counting coins with her head bowed low
You heard her snap at the cashier
Like she had nowhere else to go

Maybe nobody asked her name
Maybe nobody knew her weight
Maybe the life she had to carry
Kept her standing at that gate

[Pre-Chorus]
What if the shame came early?
What if the wound stayed near?
What if the sharpest voice we know
Is the one that’s fed by fear?

[Chorus]
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
The hardest heart can still crack open
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
That’s where the real change grows

[Bridge]
I’ve worn the cold on my own face
I’ve said the thing I can’t take back
I’ve been the one you’d walk around
When my whole world turned black

So don’t just judge the bruise
Don’t stop at what you see
Some people hurt like a locked door
Till somebody brings a key

[Final Chorus]
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
The hardest heart can still crack open
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
That’s where the real change grows
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
Even now, even then
Leave room for mercy
Leave room for mercy
And watch what kindness grows