Life, Unexpected
Life, Unexpected (Poem)
When I was a teen
With a future unseen
I felt I had life figured out
All that I'd do
Would be honest and true
And my plans would be never in doubt
I knew what I wanted
My past was not haunted
So nothing would stand in my way
But as I grew older
I didn't grow bolder
As I thought I would, back in the day
I dreamed a lot more
But a dream's just a door
To a land you haven't yet reached
So until you pass through
It feels all that you do
Falls short of what you once preached
But then came a moment
That brought my atonement:
A child was soon on the way
And then suddenly
All the failure of "Me"
Stepped back and faded to grey
Now with a new chance
To ask life to dance
I’ll first teach my daughter to play
So she grows up a teen
Who learns that her dreams
Are meant to inspire, not weigh.
- A. J. Darkholme (December 2015)
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Life, Unexpected (Lyrics)
[Intro]
I thought I had it all mapped out
But maps don’t show the storms…
[Verse 1]
When I was a teen
With the world in my hands
I made all these perfect
Impossible plans
Honest and driven
I’d never sell out
My future was fire
No room for doubt
I knew what I wanted
I’d never look back
No ghosts in my closet
No weight in my pack
But growing up's colder
Than we think it’ll be
And I lost the bold heart
That once carried me
[Bridge]
Dreams are doors that
Don't always open
And words I swore
Feel like promises broken
[First Chorus]
I thought I’d be more
By the time I got here
All the things I believed
Now just disappear
Every step that I took
Every move that I made
Fell short of the truth
That I once preached so brave
But the weight of it all
Doesn’t matter today
'Cause life had a twist
I could never explain
[Verse 2]
Then one quiet moment
The silence broke through
A new heartbeat stronger
Than anything I knew
A child was coming
And everything changed
All my regrets
Slowly rearranged
The voice in my head
That had only known shame
Was quieted gently
The day that she came
And suddenly "me"
Didn’t matter the same
I’d found something
Brighter than fame
[Bridge]
She’ll learn that dreams
Aren’t chains that bind
But lights ahead we hope to find
(Take a...)
[Second Chorus]
I thought I’d be more
By the time I got here
But love has a way
Of dissolving the fear
Every step I regretted
Every wrong I embraced
Fades away in the warmth of her face
And the life I expected?
It’s gone, it’s true
But it made space for something new
[Bridge]
So I’ll teach her to chase
But not fear the unknown
To dream without drowning
To make the world home
[Breakdown]
And when she falls short
Like we all sometimes do
I’ll tell her:
“You’re more than
What you didn’t pursue...”
(Ohhhhhh...)
[Third Chorus]
I thought I’d be more
By the time I got here
But now I see clearer
Through every year
Life isn’t perfect
It breaks and it bends
But sometimes
It gives you a way to amend
I lost my way
But I found my place
In her smile
In her laugh
In her wild, endless grace
[Final Verse]
So if she grows up
And her dreams start to weigh
I’ll remind her:
"They’re stars... not debts you must pay."
"Let them light the dark
When you’re feeling afraid."
"Life is unexpected...
And that's okay."
[Outro]
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