This One Life

[Verse 1]
I left a key beneath the bowl,
For a house I never chose.
Somewhere I wear a different coat,
And know the roads I didn’t go.

[Pre-Chorus]
I used to count those parallel days,
Like coins I’d dropped along the way.

[Chorus]
I am here—here, with this breath,
With this half-made, stubborn yes.
All those doors can stay unknown;
I have a life, and it is my own.
Step, then stop; let the old roads be.
I missed their lives; they didn’t miss me.

[Verse 2]
There’s no applause from the might-have-been,
No secret map tucked under my skin.
Just your warm cup beside my hand,
And the small good things I understand.

[Pre-Chorus]
I can grieve what never came,
Then turn and answer to my name.

[Chorus]
I am here—here, with this breath,
With this half-made, stubborn yes.
All those doors can stay unknown;
I have a life, and it is my own.
Step, then stop; let the old roads be.
I missed their lives; they didn’t miss me.

[Bridge]
No version wins by being imagined.
No life is whole because it’s unchosen.
I set the key down. I stay.
The day is small; it’s mine today.

[Final Chorus]
I am here—here, with this breath,
With this half-made, stubborn yes.
All those doors can stay unknown;
I have a life, and it is my own.
Step, then stop; let the old roads be.
I missed their lives—now I’m glad I’m me.

[Outro]
This one life, this open hand;
I’m right here where I stand.