Butterfly Beneath My Skin

[Verse 1]
You laughed, and something under my ribs took root
A warm little ache with a silver tooth
It curled in the dark where my heartbeat turns
Fed on every promise, fed on every burn
You held my hand; I felt it kick and bloom
A soft-winged hunger in the locked-up room

[Pre-Chorus]
I wanted the sweetness, I wanted the scar
I wanted the door and the creature behind it

[Chorus]
There’s a butterfly beneath my skin
It beats when you leave, it breaks when you come in
Joy in its wings, pain in its mouth
It’s growing toward the shape I can’t live without
When it tears through, let it carry my name
I loved you in tenderness, I loved you in pain

[Verse 2]
It learned your voice from the walls of my chest
Turned every goodbye to a nest in my flesh
I tried to be careful, I tried to be kind
But desire has teeth when you keep it confined
You kissed the small wound and called it a start
Now something with my face is tugging at my heart

[Pre-Chorus]
I wanted the sweetness, I wanted the scar
I wanted the truth with its hands full of hunger

[Chorus]
There’s a butterfly beneath my skin
It beats when you leave, it breaks when you come in
Joy in its wings, pain in its mouth
It’s growing toward the shape I can’t live without
When it tears through, let it carry my name
I loved you in tenderness, I loved you in pain

[Bridge]
If it comes out beautiful, don’t turn away
If it comes out monstrous, love it anyway
It is every locked wish, every swallowed plea
The shape of the life you awakened in me

[Final Chorus]
There’s a butterfly beneath my skin
It beats like a vow, it bites like a sin
Joy in its wings, pain in its mouth
Now it’s unfolding, now it’s coming out
I’ll meet its eyes; I won’t call it a stain
I wanted you wholly—the pleasure, the pain

[Outro]
You touched the wound; it opened like a flower
I feel it breathe; I feel it take its power