[Intro — piano + dry leaves rustling] They’re dead. I know. I just… Haven’t learned how to throw them away. [Verse 1] There are roses by the window Bent beneath the weight of time Every petal lost its color Still I swear they once were mine You brought them on a Tuesday For no reason, just because Funny how the smallest gestures Become everything you’ve lost I should clear the dusty water I should take the vase outside But every time I reach to move them… Something in me changes its mind [Pre-Chorus] Maybe letting something die Isn’t the same as letting go Maybe some things stay beautiful Long after they stop growing [Chorus] So I keep the dead flowers Right where you left them that night Faded red, broken stems Still catching pieces of the light I keep the dead flowers Though everybody says I should move on Because throwing them away Feels too much like admitting you’re gone Maybe they’re only petals Maybe I’m holding onto hours But I still see us alive… Inside these dead flowers [Verse 2] There’s a perfume in the paper That the years haven’t erased And one brittle little blossom Still reminds me of your face I’ve been told that healing means Making room for something new But nobody ever tells you What to do with what was true I don’t want to live inside it I don’t want the past to win I just don’t believe forgetting Is where moving on begins [Pre-Chorus] Maybe memory isn’t poison Maybe grief can coexist With a life that keeps on growing And a love you still can miss [Chorus] So I keep the dead flowers Right where you left them that night Faded red, broken stems Still catching pieces of the light I keep the dead flowers Though everybody says I should move on Because throwing them away Feels too much like admitting you’re gone Maybe they’re only petals Maybe I’m holding onto hours But I still see us alive… Inside these dead flowers [Bridge — stripped to piano] One day… I’ll throw them away. Not because you meant less. Not because I stopped loving who we were. But because maybe… The memory doesn’t live inside the vase. (pause) Maybe it lives here. And if that’s true… I don’t have to keep everything that died to prove something lived. [Breakdown — soft cello + breath] One petal One year One goodbye Still here One touch One hour Still breathing Through a dead flower [Final Chorus — full cinematic lift] I kept the dead flowers Until I finally understood Something doesn’t have to last forever For it to have been good So tonight I’ll take the dead flowers And let the autumn have them all Not because I’m leaving you behind… Because I’m learning not to fall I’ll remember every color Without needing them around And somewhere in the morning… I’ll put the empty vase back down [Outro — piano only] They’re gone. You’re not. Not completely.
