Little Me

Looking

at this picture

I see you

I see me

Hey little me

I found your picture

in a cardboard box

Beside a ticket stub and mismatched socks

Your knees were dusty,

your hair out of place

But nothing in the world could dim your face

You didn't ask permission to be glad

You didn't count the good against the bad

Hey, little me, I still know that smile

The one that made a whole room worthwhile

You carried no map,

you feared no fall You thought there was enough room for it

all And when I forget who I'm trying to be

I come back to you,

little me

You wore that bright shirt

two sizes too wide

Held every secret

with your hands open wide

The afternoon stretched

past the garden gate

You never knew that joy could learn to wait

Now I bring your courage into crowded days

One small brave step through the grown-up haze

Hey, little me, I still know that smile

The one that made a whole room worthwhile

You carried no map,

you feared no fall You thought there was enough room for it

all And when I forget who I'm trying to be

I come back to you,

little me

I can't return

to that patch of ground

Or hear the old screen door swing around

But I can loosen every knot I tied

And let your laughing heart walk by

my side

Hey, little me,

I'm learning your way

To leave a little more room for today

No perfect answer,

no need to know

Just open hands and somewhere to go

The person I chase is already here Still smiling through every changing

year

I come back to you

I come back to me