Name It Softly

Name It Softly [Verse 1] I used to call it weakness Used to call it noise Used to grind my teeth at it Like I had a choice Used to shut the curtains Used to lock the jaw Anything but listen Anything but stop [Pre-Chorus] But the harder I drag it The louder it becomes Like a child in the next room Calling through the hum [Chorus] Name it softly Don’t make it run Some things come closer When you don’t use a gun Name it softly Let it breathe Maybe it just wanted To be seen by me [Verse 2] Hands on the sink edge Cold against the tile Trying not to split myself For a little while No grand revelation No flood of light above Just the strangest feeling That pain might answer love [Pre-Chorus] And the room stays quieter When I don’t fight so hard Like something wounded loosening Its grip around my heart [Chorus] Name it softly Don’t make it run Some things come closer When you don’t use a gun Name it softly Let it breathe Maybe it just wanted To be seen by me [Bridge] Not every ghost is evil Not every wound is threat Some things stayed feral Because I never met them yet [Verse 3] So I sit beside the feeling I don’t reach to make it leave I let it have a shape now I let it have a seat And it doesn’t turn to nothing And it doesn’t take me whole It just stops pacing in the dark When I finally say its name out low [Pre-Chorus] No battle cry No grand release Just a hand unclenching Just a little peace [Final Chorus] Name it softly Don’t make it run Some things come closer When you don’t use a gun Name it softly Let it breathe Maybe it just wanted To be seen by me Name it softly Stay with it awhile Sometimes the first mercy Is simply being mild [Outro] Hands on the sink edge Breath in the room Said it out loud once And it did not consume