Checkout line at the grocery store

Somebody arguing behind me

Phones lighting up like sirens

Everybody talking loud to be seen

Man in the parking lot cussing traffic

Cart wheels rattling through the heat

Used to carry all that tension

Home with me onto my street

But I’m still walking softly

Through a world that likes to shout

Still holding onto something

I don’t fully understand yet now

Maybe peace ain’t fragile

Maybe it’s stronger than it seems

Maybe quiet keeps on living

Even underneath the noise we breathe

Break room conversation turning bitter

Everybody picking sides again

Somebody laughing at sincerity

Like kindness always has to bend

I almost jumped in with them

Felt the old words rise up fast

Then something in me chose stillness

And just let the moment pass

And I’m still walking softly

Through a world that likes to shout

Still learning not every silence

Means somebody’s backing down

Maybe strength looks different

Than the way I thought it did

Maybe mercy keeps its footing

By not needing always to win

I spent years trying to harden

Like that was the safest way

Now the whole world feels a little lighter

Since I quit carrying every fight all day

Doesn’t mean the hurt is over

Doesn’t mean the road turns smooth

Just means I don’t lose myself now

Every time the world gets rude

So I’m still walking softly

Past the flashing lights and signs

Still trying to leave some kindness

In the spaces I pass by

Maybe peace was never distant

Maybe it was always near

Waiting underneath the noise awhile

For somebody willing to hear

Traffic moving through the evening

Porch lights coming slowly on

Whole world still spinning loudly

But I don’t feel the need to spin along