open hands

Verse 1 I memorized the way you breathe Like it was scripture, like it was home Every laugh you threw at the room I caught like it was my own I made a kingdom out of crumbs You didn’t know you left behind Built a cathedral in my chest To a god that wasn’t mine Pre-Chorus You were sunlight through a window I was dust inside the beam You never saw me reaching You just liked the way I gleamed Chorus I love you with open hands While you’re holding someone else I’d tear the beating from my chest If it would make you feel it yourself But you don’t, you won’t, you can’t And I’m learning what that means To give your heart like a loaded gun To someone who won’t ever need The love I carry for you The love that’s killing me Verse 2 I studied every “almost” touch Like it might turn into more You said my name like a friend would do And I heard forever in yours You cried to me about your nights And the one who makes you whole I held your shaking shoulders close While mine were letting go Pre-Chorus You were oceans, wild and endless I was steady on the shore Watching every wave crash in Knowing I’d never be what you’re crashing for Chorus I love you with open hands While you’re holding someone else I’d set myself on fire just To be the warmth you felt But you don’t, you won’t, you can’t Turn around and see The quiet way I disappear Each time you lean on me With the love I carry for you The love that’s burying me Bridge (raw) There’s nothing noble in this pain No poetry in staying I’m just a fool with bleeding palms From prayers you’re not even saying I hate the way I’d choose you still If you called me at 2 a.m. I’d stitch your wounds with shaking hands While mine stay open again And I know I should walk away Find arms that want to hold me But hope is a cruel, stubborn thing It keeps my heart unfolding In front of you In front of you Final Chorus (stripped) I love you with open hands And you let them stay that way Empty as the promises You never meant to make You don’t, you won’t, you can’t Love me like I do So I’ll close my hands around this ache And learn to live without you Outro (soft) If love is letting go Then I loved you the most Because I’m the one Who had to let you go.*