I thought it was a trick of the light
When I saw that first silver hair
Glinting like a spider’s web in a field of red
But it’s just Time that put it there

I climbed into the attic
To rifle through what’s left of my past
The layers I see, like the rings in a tree
Lay bare all the history I’ve amassed

We can’t know the ocean until we’ve been at sea
We can’t know the mountains until we’ve scaled the peaks
We can’t know the desert without the burning sand beneath our feet

I’m too young to settle down
My mom had three kids when she was my age
But every word, to me, is a possibility
That I can nurture or ignore or raise

It doesn’t pay to follow this muse
She floats me down a narrow river
When the price of crossing is too high, she sends me back with a sigh
And these dark messages to deliver

We can’t know the ocean until we’ve been at sea
We can’t know the mountains until we’ve scaled the peaks
We can’t know the desert without the burning sand beneath our feet

So there’s no use in wondering how things could be
I did the best I could with what was given to me
There’s no truth in excuses or time machines
But before I cross the river I plan to know the sea