The Family of Things

You don't have to be perfect, you don't have to be good
To stand right here where the saints once stood
You don't have to crawl on your knees in the sand
A hundred miles through a desert land
Repenting for sins you don't understand
Just let the soft animal inside of your chest
Love what it loves, and find its rest

So tell me your despair, and I'll tell you mine
While the world moves on in a long, straight line
The Sun and the rain on the pebbles of stone
Remind us we're never truly alone
High in the blue, where the air is so clear
The wild geese are calling, and home is near

Meanwhile the landscapes are shifting their hue
Over the prairies and the deep trees too
Over the mountains, where the rivers all run
The work of the earth is never quite done
And the wild geese fly through the clean, cold air
Heading back home with no burden to bear

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely
This isn't a dream, and it isn't for only
The brave or the strong or the ones with a crown–
The world offers beauty to help you lay down
Your heavy imagination, your shadows and fears
It's been calling your name for a thousand years

So tell me your despair, and I'll tell you mine
While the world moves on in a long, straight line
The Sun and the rain on the pebbles of stone
Remind us we're never truly alone
High in the blue, where the air is so clear
The wild geese are calling, and home is near

Harsh and exciting, they cry from the sky
Announcing your place as the seasons go by
In the family of things, where you've always belonged
The journey was right, even when it felt wrong