[Verse 1] I used to hide my name in my sleeve, like it might tear if the day got rough. Kept my mouth full of swallowed words, kept my hands busy with small enough things. A cracked mug. A bent key. A receipt I forgot to throw away. Proof that I was here, even when I moved like a shadow through my own apartment. I learned how to laugh on cue, how to nod like I understood, how to say, “I’m fine” with a face that looked believable in bad fluorescent rooms. But truth? Truth was a paper lantern. Pretty from far off. Fragile in the wind. [Pre-Chorus] And still, some nights, I would cup that flame. Some nights, I would guard it with both palms. Because something in me kept saying stay. Kept saying stay. [Chorus] Stay. Even now, stay. Even with the cracks. Even with the rain. Stay. Even now, stay. You were not built just to break. [Verse 2] There was a winter I measured in dishes. One bowl in the sink. Two cups by the door. No calls answered. No plans made. Just me and the small war of getting dressed in the morning. Putting one foot in the sock. Then the other. Like that was victory. Like that was sacred. And maybe it was. Maybe surviving is quieter than the stories they tell. Maybe it looks like bread on the counter, like a text you finally send, like sitting beside your own heart and not leaving it alone. I thought healing would arrive with trumpets. Turns out it came wearing work boots, carrying water, asking me to open the blinds. [Pre-Chorus] And still, some nights, I would cup that flame. Some nights, I would guard it with both palms. Because something in me kept saying stay. Kept saying stay. [Chorus] Stay. Even now, stay. Even with the cracks. Even with the rain. Stay. Even now, stay. You were not built just to break. [Bridge] Listen— I am not the bruise. I am not the moment the room went cold. I am the hand that returned. I am the breath that returned. I am the name I almost let go. And if you’re standing where I stood, with your light in pieces, I’m telling you: you can still make a lantern. You can still make a lantern. [Final Chorus] Stay. Even now, stay. Even with the cracks. Even with the rain. Stay. Even now, stay. You were not built just to break. Stay. Even now, stay. Hold what is yours. Let it blaze. Stay. Even now, stay. You were not built just to break.
