Snow falls on the windowsill, quiet as a held-back breath

Momma hums a broken carol, trying not to wake the rest

I curl up by the heater glow, pretending it’s a fire

’Cause winter feels like someone’s arms, warmer than this tired choir

The hall is filled with shadows shaped like things I shouldn’t hear

But I’m small enough to listen without letting in the fear

I draw circles on the frosted glass, hoping someone sees

A message made of fingerprints and silent little pleas

And the world outside is silver

Like a kindness falling slow

I imagine if it heard me

Maybe it would melt the snow

So hold me softly, winter night

Keep your quiet shining bright

Wrap me in your fragile light

’Til the morning feels alright

Oh keep me drifting in the white

Where the dark stays out of sight

Tonight I’m only trying to survive

The long, cold hush of life

There’s a pair of boots by the doorway, left out from another year

They’re bigger than my footsteps, but I hope they’re still near

A memory of comfort made of wool and worn-out seams

I breathe them in like bedtime, like a lullaby in dreams

If I were older, maybe I

Could understand the reasons why

Some voices crack like breaking ice

And others only learn to cry

But I’m just holding to the sound

Of snow that settles on the ground

A softness in a world so loud

A shield no one can tear down

So hold me softly, winter night

Keep your quiet shining bright

Wrap me in your fragile light

’Til the morning feels alright

And if I tremble through the fight

Let the snowfall make it right

Tonight I’m only trying to survive

The long, cold hush of life

And when the dawn begins to grow

I’ll rise with footprints in the snow

A small voice learning how to know

The world is bigger

but I’m not alone