Paper

We started out like paper on a table,

Clean white edges, nothing written down,

Every word was something we could choose,

Every promise was a line we could hold true.

I kept it flat, I kept it clean,

Never thought I’d watch it come apart at the seams,

But love ain’t something you can fold and forget,

Every crease remembers what happened next.

You can smooth it with your hands,

Press the wrinkles to the ground,

But the paper keeps the places

Where the pressure pushed it down.

Trust is like a piece of paper,

Once you crumple it, it never looks the same,

You can straighten every corner,

You can try to erase the pain.

But every little wrinkle

Is a memory of the fall,

And sometimes love’s not about perfection,

It’s choosing not to tear it up at all.

I’ve kept it flat, I’ve kept it clean,

Now I’m scared I’ll ball it up

And toss it aside like it never meant a thing.

Some words leave ink beneath the surface,

Even when you swear you’ve washed them out,

Some apologies are like an eraser,

They can fade the line but can’t erase the doubt.

And every time we bend beneath the weight,

We leave another crease behind,

But maybe damaged paper still has purpose,

If two hands are willing to take their time.

So don’t reach for the trash can,

Don’t let go because it’s torn,

Some of the strongest stories

Are written on what’s been worn.

Trust is like a piece of paper,

Once you crumple it, it never looks the same,

You can straighten every corner,

You can try to erase the pain.

But every little wrinkle

Is a memory of the fall,

And sometimes love’s not about perfection,

It’s choosing not to tear it up at all.

I’ve kept it flat, I’ve kept it clean,

Now I’m scared I’ll ball it up

And toss it aside like it never meant a thing.

Maybe we were never meant

To stay untouched and white,

Maybe love is learning how

To hold the creases right.

Because a perfect sheet is empty,

But a weathered one can speak,

And every fold between our hands

Shows the places we were weak.

So if you’re holding my heart tonight,

Don’t let it hit the floor,

I’ll take the wrinkles we’ve created

If you’ll help me make it more.

Trust is like a piece of paper,

And ours has seen a few hard days,

But I don’t want to crumple what we built

Just because it isn’t the same.

I’ll smooth it with my hands,

I’ll protect the fragile parts,

I can’t undo the wrinkles,

But I can choose what happens from here on out.

I’ve kept it flat, I’ve kept it clean,

But now I know what matters most—

Not keeping love untouched,

But refusing to let it go.

So leave the paper on the table,

Don’t ball it up tonight.

Let the wrinkles tell our story,

Let the broken edges remind us

We survived the fight.

It may never look brand new again,

But maybe that’s okay…

Because some things become more precious

After they’ve been bent along the way.