Title: “I Thought They Saw Me” Verse 1 I remember standing by the window In a red skirt, barely eight years old Lace on my sleeves, my heart wide open Believing warmth meant I was whole They smiled, they pointed, voices gentle “Isn’t it beautiful,” they said I held that moment like a promise Not knowing where their eyes had led Pre-Chorus I learned too early how to wait For love to choose my face Chorus I thought they saw me I thought I was the light But they were watching the sky break open Red and gold against the night I stood there smiling, holding still Trying hard to be enough I thought they saw me But I felt I was never meant to be Verse 2 Now I see her in the hallway mirror That little girl searching for a spark Looking for proof she mattered Some small flame inside the dark The room was loud with grown-up laughter Bodies pressed where I once stood I know now why she felt invisible Why silence felt safer than hope ever could Pre-Chorus I wish I’d known how to step inside And stand there by her side Chorus She thought they saw her She thought she was the light But they were praising a burning sunset Tearing colors through the night She stayed so quiet, learned to disappear To not ask for too much love She thought they saw her But they were never looking close enough Bridge If I could reach across that room I’d take her hand, I’d make it true Say: You are not the empty space You are not what they refused to face Final Chorus Now I see her And now I stay I am the witness she never had that day There is a light that doesn’t beg or hide It lives in me, it survived I see her clearly I call her mine She was the beauty all the time
