[Verse 1] I want your hand to find mine in a crowded room Want your eyes to say I’m still the one you choose Then I count the doors that opened when I made it through And wonder if the clapping means I’m known by you [Pre-Chorus] I keep a ledger in my chest Of every vow I haven’t met The hungry part says, “Take your turn” The faithful part says, “Wait, return” [Chorus] How do I hold the wanting and the promise? How do I climb and still look back? I can reach for love without possessing I can build without becoming what I lack Let the good I leave be more than my name Let the ones I love not pay for my flame I won’t make one voice rule over all I’ll hear them—and answer when they call [Verse 2] I want the work to matter when my hands are gone A kinder room for those who have to carry on But every bright ambition has a shadowed cost And someone waits at home when I get lost [Pre-Chorus] The promise isn’t just a chain It’s how I keep my word through change I can revise the road I take But not pretend the hearts won’t break [Chorus] How do I hold the wanting and the promise? How do I climb and still look back? I can reach for love without possessing I can build without becoming what I lack Let the good I leave be more than my name Let the ones I love not pay for my flame I won’t make one voice rule over all I’ll hear them—and answer when they call [Breakdown] Name what I want Name what I owe Who needs my presence? What can I let go? No crown is worth the people left waiting No vow is alive if it asks me to stop changing [Final Chorus] I can hold the wanting and the promise I can rise and keep my word intact I’ll reach for love with open hands now I’ll do the work and tend the ties I have Let the good I leave be shared, not claimed Let my ambition learn a gentler name When all my voices rise and call I’ll choose with care—and carry all [Outro] Not every hunger needs the wheel Not every duty means stand still I can want, and I can stay I can choose again each day
