Verse 1]
You took it in teaspoons, said it was love
A little more patience, a little more blood
A little more effort, a little more grace
Till I couldn’t tell where I ended or gave
You called it a partnership, called it a home
But I was the muscle, the marrow, the bone
You ate from my hands, from the work of my days
And smiled like I owed you the strength that I gave
⸻
[Pre-Chorus]
And I learned to be quiet
So you could feel kind
(soft hum beneath)
⸻
[Chorus]
You fed on the hours I never got back
On the bend of my spine and the lines that it cracked
On the warmth of my body, the weight of my care
Like I was a well and you’d always find there
You took in small pieces so I wouldn’t see
Just how much of me you believed you could keep
But I am not endless, I am not free
To be everything you could take out of me
⸻
[Verse 2]
You wore down my no till it sounded like yes
Turned need into duty and touch into debt
You softened your voice when I started to fray
Like kindness could cover the cost I would pay
You loved me the most when I needed the least
When I gave without asking, when I stayed incomplete
And every “I’m sorry” you scattered like seed
Still grew into something that choked out my needs
⸻
[Pre-Chorus]
And I learned to go still
So you wouldn’t feel cruel
⸻
[Chorus]
You fed on the hours I never got back
On the bend of my spine and the lines that it cracked
On the warmth of my body, the weight of my care
Like I was a well and you’d always find there
You took in small pieces so I wouldn’t see
Just how much of me you believed you could keep
But I am not endless, I am not free
To be everything you could take out of me
⸻
[Bridge – quiet, almost spoken]
I remember the first time I felt myself leave
Not my body, just something beneath
A closing door I pretended not to hear
You never noticed
You only ever counted what was still here
(low hum begins, like distant voices)
⸻
[Final Chorus – fuller, steadier, not louder but stronger]
You fed on the hours I buried alive
On the parts of myself I denied to survive
On the shape of my silence, the space that I made
For you to exist without ever being changed
You took in small pieces, but now I can see
There’s nothing left here that you’re owed from me
I am not endless, I am not yours
I am the hand that is closing the door
⸻
[Outro – soft, resolute]
No more pieces
No more giving you the best of me in parts
(layered voices, close and human)
“Take your hunger elsewhere”
“Take your hunger elsewhere”
(final line, alone)
I am not your meal
I am what remains
