[Verse 1] I was forged in heat and hunger, named for what I take. Hands were taught to promise what a heart was never meant to make. I learned desire like a language, fluent, sharp, and clean — but no one ever asked me who I was beneath the skin. [Pre-Chorus] Then I was given, not chosen, a debt dressed up as grace. A gift of absolution with my name erased. [Chorus] If I stay, let it be freely, not because I burn. No chains, only breathing, no lessons left to learn. If you touch me, touch the truth, not the role I play. I don’t want to be forgiven — I just want to stay. [Verse 2] There is no fire in the morning, only quiet streets and light. Human hours move so slowly, they don’t scream, they don’t bite. I don’t know this kind of silence, where nothing asks for more. No altar, no commandment, no blood upon the floor. [Pre-Chorus 2] I watch you breathe when you’re sleeping, wondering who I am when I am not performing, when I’m not part of the plan. [Chorus] If I stay, let it be freely, not because I burn. No chains, only breathing, no hunger left to earn. If you see me, see the doubt I never got to choose. I’m not made of sin or service — I’m afraid of losing you. [Bridge] What if I am not enough without the want, the heat, the need? What if all that I was made for is not what you see? I was shaped to be desired, never taught to be held. If you reach for me in quiet — will I break, or will I melt? [Break] I don’t know how to be gentle. I don’t know how to ask. All I know is I am here now, without a script, without a mask. [Final Chorus] So if I stay, let it be freely, no command, no debt. No chains, only breathing, no fire to regret. I am more than my design, more than what I was. If you let me, I will learn what love is — because… [Outro - softly spoken] For the first time in my life I am not owned, not summoned, not claimed. I am seen. I am held. I remain.
