I learned your silence better than your voice,
Every pause felt heavier than noise.
I kept my armor on, I stayed unkind,
Afraid that love would cost me more than time.

I thought control was safer than the fall,
Didn’t hear your heartbeat through the wall.

I was sharp when I should’ve been warm,
I was calm while the storm took form.

Now it’s too late to be gentle,
Too late to open my hands.
I loved you like a war zone,
Not like a human can.
If I’d knew what love was asking,
I wouldn’t need to pretend —
Now it’s too late to be gentle,
But I still feel you when I breathe in.

I spoke in reasons, numbers, lines,
While you were speaking in signs.
You needed presence, not replies,
I needed time I couldn’t buy.

I mistook distance for control,
Didn’t know I was losing home.

I was loud when I should’ve stayed,
I was brave in the wrong damn way.

Now it’s too late to be gentle,
Too late to soften my hands.
I loved you like a battle,
Not like a fragile plan.
If I’d knew love was listening,
Not proving who I am —
Now it’s too late to be gentle,
But I still carry where you’ve been.

I don’t blame you for leaving,
I blame me for surviving
Without learning how to stay.
Some love isn’t loud or violent —
It’s quiet,
And I broke it anyway.

Now it’s too late to be gentle,
But not too late to be real.
I’ll bleed this truth into music
‘Cause silence is what kills.
If I’d knew that I love you
Meant letting down my shield —
I wouldn’t need this song to say
What I was too afraid to feel.

Too late to be gentle…
But not too late to remember.

If I'd Knew That I Love You

Too Late to Be Gentle

Verse 1

I tell myself I’m moving on
Like I don’t know your name
Like I don’t still hear your voice
In everything that’s changed

I packed away the memories
But they keep leaking through
Every road I try to take
Still circles back to you

Pre-Chorus

I can fake it in the daylight
I can lie and say I’m fine
But forgetting isn’t something
I can do on time

Chorus

It’s hard to forget
What felt like home
Hard to erase
What I still know

I’m holding the weight
Of what we were then
Funny how it’s taking me forever
And it was easy for you to forget

Verse 2

I changed my habits, changed my place
Even changed my state of mind
But everything I do alone
Still feels like borrowed time

You don’t look back the way I do
You don’t stumble when you pass
I’m still living in the aftermath
You already moved past

Pre-Chorus 2

They say it fades if you don’t feed it
If you just let it die
But some loves don’t disappear
They just learn how to hide

Chorus

It’s hard to forget
What felt like mine
Hard to unlearn
Every sign

I’m breaking the pieces
One day at a time
You let it go like it was nothing
While I’m still trying

Bridge (quiet, honest)

I don’t want you back
I just want it to stop
I want to stop measuring time
By everything we lost

You made forgetting look so simple
Like love never left a mark
I’m still learning how to breathe
With your memory in my heart

Final Chorus

It’s hard to forget
What felt like home
Hard to forgive
Myself alone

I know I’ll get there eventually
But I’m not finished yet
You walked away without looking back
It was easy for you to forget

Outro (soft, unresolved)

I’m letting go as best I can
I just haven’t forgotten yet

Confessions [Without Faith]

Sevendust

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