Let the Years We're Here be Kind

“North”
by Sleeping at Last, from Atlas: Land

we will call this place our home
the dirt in which our roots may grow.
though the storms will push and pull
we will call this place our home.

we'll tell our stories on these walls.
every year, measure how tall.
and just like a work of art
we'll tell our stories on these walls.

let the years we're here be kind, be kind.
let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide.
settle our bones like wood over time, over time.
give us bread, give us salt, give us wine.

a little broken, a little new.
we are the impact and the glue.
capable more than we know
to call this fixer upper home.

with each year, our color fades.
slowly, our paint chips away.
but we will find the strength
and the nerve it takes
to repaint and repaint and repaint every day.

let the years we're here be kind, be kind.
let our hearts, like doors, open wide, open wide.
settle our bones like wood over time, over time.
give us bread, give us salt, give us wine.

smaller than dust on this map
lies the greatest thing we have:
the dirt in which our roots may grow
and the right to call it home.

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See also: Episode #2 of the Sleeping at Last podcast explains how the song “North” was made.