i looked back once, to where i came from
a graveyard of vices, each one rusted
shattered links scattered like autumn leaves
their weight gone, their whisper silenced
the night once lived in my eyes
a darkness i called my own
but now, oh now, a light burns there
not mine, yet it claims me whole
it is not borrowed, nor stolen
it is gift and grace, woven into my marrow
a flame that neither flickers nor fades
pulling me forward, redeemed, unbroken
every step echoes freedom
each breath sings of chains undone
where i once stumbled in shadows
now i walk in the radiance of another’s glory
i am not my own, and yet, i have never
been more myself