As long as I shall live

As long as I shall live
Walls tumbling down, I forgive
As long as hands can hold mine
Finding faces in the sunshine
Just me and my soul, steady and slow
Still hungry for kindness, for stories to know
One word whispers warm, then another
Again. Close as breath, closer than a brother
And sometimes, sometimes I pause
Soul searching in gentle applause
As long as I live, I will feel music mend me
As long as I breathe, the sound can defend me
Lifted, carried, I rise just a bit higher
As long as I live, joy will inspire
I hold on, hold on, hold on
To dreams I sleep upon
I hold on, hold on, hold on
A winter’s night, a bed beneath my bones