Prompt:

Verse 1 I rehearse what I won’t say Every night before I sleep ‘Cause if I tell you how I feel You might finally leave You read me like a book Then dog-ear all the pages Say you love my honesty But panic when I’m brave ⸻ Pre-Chorus I’ve been shrinking my voice Just to keep you calm Turning truths into whispers So you won’t be gone ⸻ Chorus If I stay quiet You stay close If I ask questions You lose control So I bite my tongue Till it bleeds a little I make loving you easy Even when it’s killing me gentle ⸻ Verse 2 You love me best at midnight When nothing’s asked of you In the dark, I’m your favorite In the light, I’m too much truth I keep forgiving futures You never promise me I fall in love with maybes While you live comfortably ⸻ Pre-Chorus I confuse patience with hope And silence with peace But I know I’m disappearing Every time I don’t speak ⸻ Chorus If I stay quiet You don’t run If I need clarity We come undone So I smile through the ache Call it being mature But I’m bleeding politely Trying not to want more ⸻ Bridge If loving you requires less of me Then maybe love’s not what this is I don’t want to beg for safety Or earn a place I should’ve been given ⸻ Final Chorus (Softer, Higher) If I stay quiet I survive But I don’t feel alive I don’t want peace that costs my voice Or love that feels like a compromise ⸻ Outro I won’t stay quiet Just to be chosen.