I Stay

Verse 1]

There were nights the world went quiet

Like it didn’t need me here

Every road felt hollow

Every future felt unclear

But then I’d hear your laughter

Or remember your face

And something in my chest would say

Stay

Not because it’s easy

Not because it’s fair

But because love

Still lives here

I stay because of you

Every single one

Five hearts that tied me

To the rising sun

When the dark says “let go”

I hear your names

And I stay

I stay

You don’t see the battles

I fight behind my eyes

The way I choose breathing

On the hardest nights

I don’t carry you like weight

I carry you like truth

You remind me who I am

When I forget it too

You didn’t save me

You remind me

Why I save myself

I stay because of you

Because love still calls me back

Five reasons to keep choosing

When the road goes black

I don’t stay out of fear

I stay out of flame

I stay

I stay

One day you’ll live your own lives

And I won’t stand at the center

But know this —

You were never my burden

You were my tether

You didn’t replace my will

You awakened it

I stay because of you

But I live because I can

Because you showed me

I still matter as I am

If the world ever tells you

I was weak or afraid

Know this —

I stayed

And that was strength

I’m still here

I’m still choosing

I’m still breathing

And every beat of my heart

Carries you —

not as my only reason,

but as my reminder

that life is worth staying for