Slow Steps on the Path

[Soft Felt Piano Intro] Canvas shoes with two laces tied loose We step out onto the trail behind the house [Verse 1] Yellow leaves fallen thick like a soft carpet Heel breaks a small crisp rustle A cricket hops across the edge of the road Uncaring where we're headed [Pre-Chorus] A wooden staff keeps beat in place of a clock Each step a long drawn breath [Chorus] slow steps on the path We walk as if time had fallen asleep slow steps on the path Each footprint a farewell to rush [Verse 2] Sun-shadow stretches long across the shoulder We pause to watch cloud-traces drift on the ground A yellow butterfly leads through the bend Then vanishes into the grass as if never there [Chorus] slow steps on the path We walk as if time had fallen asleep slow steps on the path Each footprint a farewell to rush [Bridge] Life tells us to run so we're not late But this narrow trail only needs someone to walk Walking slow isn't weakness, it's living [Chorus] slow steps on the path We walk as if time had fallen asleep slow steps on the path Each footprint a farewell to rush [Outro] Turn back when the sun has slanted low The shoes still hold their leaf-prints intact [Fade Out] [End]