Leave the Kettle Singing

[Verse 1]
You left the kettle singing
While the morning crossed the tile
I saw the tired in your shoulders
And stayed a little while

The news was full of borders
And a thousand private wars
But you put your hand beside mine
Like a key beside a door

[Pre-Chorus]
We don't need a perfect answer
We need room enough to hear
Every heart is carrying weather
Every stranger has a fear

[Chorus]
Love is not a prize we gather
It is bread passed hand to hand
Empathy can cross a distance
Forgiveness helps us stand

When the old walls lean between us
When the blame has filled the room
Choose the softer word together
Make a little living room

[Verse 2]
The bus broke down by Tuesday
Rain collected in the seats
Someone shared a torn umbrella
With a child in yellow sleeves

I have said the thing that wounded
I have watched a friendship close
But a door can take a beating
And still open, if it knows

[Pre-Chorus]
We don't have to lose our anger
We can teach it where to go
Turn it toward the hands that harm us
Not the hands that need to know

[Chorus]
Love is not a prize we gather
It is bread passed hand to hand
Empathy can cross a distance
Forgiveness helps us stand

When the old walls lean between us
When the blame has filled the room
Choose the softer word together
Make a little living room

[Bridge]
If I can name your hurt without me becoming small
If you can meet my failures without making me crawl
Then the future isn't waiting somewhere out of sight
It begins with one more mercy practiced tonight

[Final Chorus]
Love is not a prize we gather
It is bread passed hand to hand
Empathy can cross a distance
Forgiveness helps us stand

Let the cello cut the silence
Let the choir lift the roof
Let the marimba mark the heartbeat
Let our actions prove the truth

[Outro]
Leave the kettle singing
Leave the doorway wide
There is enough of us together
To turn the tide