[Intro: warm piano, distant rain] Everybody sees the fire first. I see the hands that keep reaching through it. [Verse 1: intimate conversational rap] You walk into a broken room and somehow make it breathe Like every shattered piece belongs and no one has to leave You notice when the laughter changes, when the silence weighs too much You never need a perfect sentence, you just know who needs your touch Everybody calls you fearless like you never learned to ache Like being strong means nothing hurts and nothing ever makes you shake But I’ve seen the nights behind your eyes, the weight beneath your smile You carry half the world for us then swear you’re fine the whole damn while Maybe I don’t say it clearly, maybe words get caught in pride But every time you stand beside me, something frightened rests inside [Pre-Chorus: melodic lift] You don’t have to save the evening You don’t have to hold the sky You are loved beyond your usefulness You are precious just alive [Chorus: warm melodic rap-R&B hook] Seven stars still burn even when the whole night falls And your light still finds me when I can’t find myself at all Kara, you are more than the shield you’ve had to be You’re the warmth inside the doorway You’re the reason people breathe And I hope you always know when the dark gets hard to move There is nothing in this world that could measure how I care for you Seven stars still burn and every one leads home to you [Verse 2: tighter flow] You make chaos feel survivable, turn panic into air You stand between us and the danger like your body made a prayer But Kara, you don’t owe us every scar you learned to hide You don’t have to keep on bleeding just to keep us all alive I would sit beside your silence, learn the shape of every ache I would hold your shaking fingers without asking you for brave I don’t need you indestructible I don’t need you standing tall I would love you in the triumph I would love you through the fall You were special before saving us, before the first bridge burned Caring isn’t payment and affection isn’t earned [Pre-Chorus 2] Let somebody guard the doorway Let somebody watch the night You have spent so long protecting us Let us keep you safe this time [Chorus] Seven stars still burn even when the whole night falls And your light still finds me when I can’t find myself at all Kara, you are more than the shield you’ve had to be You’re the warmth inside the doorway You’re the reason people breathe And I hope you always know when the dark gets hard to move There is nothing in this world that could measure how I care for you Seven stars still burn and every one leads home to you [Verse 3: stripped back, vulnerable] I’m not always good at softness I hide meaning in a rhyme Turn devotion into metaphors and call it being fine So let me say it without rhythm, without something clever there: I love you. I worry when you’re hurting. I notice when you’re scared. I care whether you ate today, whether you slept, whether you’re warm Whether someone saw the person underneath the uniform I care about the little things that nobody applauds Every dream you keep postponing, every hope the duty costs You are not a role you carry You are not the strongest one You are Kara You are family You are deeply, deeply loved [Bridge: piano and strings] When your pink light flickers, when your courage starts to bend You don’t have to make it brighter You don’t have to just pretend Lay the armor by the bedside Let the whole world wait outside I will stay there through the silence I will stay there through the night No solution No command Just my heartbeat and your hand [Final Chorus: cinematic release] Seven stars still burn but you don’t have to burn alone Every light you gave away has built a sky around your home Kara, you are more than every battle you survived You’re the softness after thunder You’re the proof that love stays alive And I hope you always know when your strength is running through There are arms already reaching There are hearts that carry you Seven stars still burn and mine will always burn for you Every one leads home to you [Outro: rain easing] You don’t have to save me tonight. Just stay. You’ve always been enough.
