How it ends

Remember when we carved our names
Into that old oak tree
You said forever wasn't long enough
For you and me
Now I'm standing in the parking lot
Where we used to meet
Wondering how forever
Turned so bittersweet

I still have that photograph
Tucked inside my drawer
Your laugh echoing through the halls
Of who we were before
But seasons change and people grow
In ways we can't control
Sometimes love means letting go
To save what's left of our souls

We're different people now
Than we were back then
Can't rewrite the story
Can't pretend

This is how it ends
Not with angry words or broken glass
Just two hearts that learned to love
But couldn't make it last
This is how it ends
With a whispered goodbye and one last glance
At what we had, what we lost
Our beautiful, tragic romance

I see you at the coffee shop
With someone new beside you
He makes you laugh the way I used to
And I'm happy that he finds you
Beautiful in morning light
The way I always did
Some chapters close so others
Can begin

You look good, you look at peace
With the choices that you've made
I hope you find the kind of love
That never has to fade
We were right for a moment
Wrong for a lifetime
But I wouldn't change a thing
About our borrowed time

We're different people now
Than we were back then
Can't rewrite the story
Can't pretend

This is how it ends
Not with angry words or broken glass
Just two hearts that learned to love
But couldn't make it last
This is how it ends
With a whispered goodbye and one last glance
At what we had, what we lost
Our beautiful, tragic romance

Maybe in another life
We could make it right
But in this one we're learning
How to say goodnight

This is how it ends
With gratitude for what we shared
Two souls who loved completely
Even when we were scared
This is how it ends
Not broken, just transformed by chance
What we had, what we learned
Our beautiful, tragic romance