I should have let my heart love recklessly,
Not guarded it so well
That no one knew what it sounded like.I should have put it out there in the battlefield,
Fighting valiantly in the vanguard
Regardless of the arrows that might pierce it.I should have let it be captured at least once,
Let it set foot on enemy territory,
Experience being a powerless prisoner.I shouldn't have stopped it from screaming
Battle cries that could once win wars
But are now no more than just forgotten whispers.I shouldn't have sheltered it so much
That it didn't know what being wounded felt like
Nor the great fear of losing something, or someone.I should have let it learn the ways of the world,
Showing how to recover from a crushing defeat
And knowing when to retreat.I shouldn't have thought of letting it retire early on,
Without ever finding a match, to wound and to fuel;
To know danger, to know love, to know lossI should have let my heart love recklessly,
Now, it might just die without ever knowing adventure;
No stories to tell on rocking chairs when the sun dies.