The House That I Never Had

[Verse 1] I used to draw it in my notebooks Four walls, a porch, a cherry tree Windows warm with golden sunlight A place that might remember me But cardboard bends, and concrete’s colder Than any dream a child can keep I learned to pray to empty corners And fall too fast, and sleep too deep [Chorus] This is the house that I never had With locks on love, and a door for Dad With dinners hot, and beds not stone A place that meant I wasn’t alone I walk through rain, I count each crack Looking for what won’t come back A porchlight left on just for me In the house that I’ll never see [Verse 2] I know the names of every shelter The ones that shut, the ones that stay I learned to lie about my birthday To get a meal, to find a way My shoes have walked through frozen mornings My hands have held too much regret And people pass like I’m not breathing Like I’m the piece they just forget [Chorus] This is the house that I never had Where kindness lived, not just a fad Where fights were fair, and hugs were real And silence didn’t make me kneel I talk to ghosts who call me back To little dreams I always lack Still chasing warmth I’ve never known From the house that was never my own [Bridge] I see it sometimes in the windows Of strangers living better lives A mother braiding hair at sunrise A boy with joy behind his eyes And I don’t hate them, I just wonder Why some are born with sturdy hands While others break before they’re building A place where someone understands [Final Chorus] This is the house that I never had With curtains soft, and voices glad With birthday songs and colored lights With someone saying “It’s alright” I’ll carry dreams no roof can catch Sleep in doorways, heart unlatch Still wishing for what I can't grab The house… the house that I never had