The Halo's Mission

I grew up believing the world would be better without me.

Teachers looked away. Some joined in.

I believed God existed… and that He hated me.

So I stayed.

And I decided—if I had to live,

I would make sure no one else felt that alone.

I learned young how silence sounds

When the room pretends you’re not around

Laughter hides behind their ties

While I counted cracks in classroom tiles

They said I was the problem child

Said I’d never make it past this mile

Every word became a stone

I carried home and slept alone

I believed the lie they sold to me

That I was born wrong, hard to keep

I knew heaven had a name

I just thought it felt the same

But I stayed

When the dark said “let it end”

I stayed

When the world refused to bend

I didn’t rise because I was saved

I didn’t shine, I learned to brace

If light won’t reach me where I stand

Then I’ll become a shield with burned black hands

I stayed

There was one voice in the static storm

One pair of hands trying to keep me warm

Said “you matter” through clenched teeth

While the world kept grinding underneath

She fought shadows she couldn’t see

Tried to stand between them and me

Too much dark, too little flame

But she never turned away

I don’t blame her for the weight

One soul can’t hold back fate

But she showed me how to stay

When everything said fade away

So I stayed

When the dark said “let it end”

I stayed

When the world refused to bend

I didn’t rise because I was saved

I didn’t shine, I learned to brace

If light won’t reach me where I stand

Then I’ll become a shield with burned black hands

I stayed

Somewhere in the years I learned

Pain can either rot or burn

I saw myself in shattered eyes

In voices cracking, trying not to cry

I knew that look, that silent plea

The fear of being history

So I stood where no one stayed

And answered prayers I never prayed

I stopped asking heaven “why me”

Started asking “who still needs me”

If pain was all I’d ever know

Then I’d make damn sure it stopped here

If I was built to take the blows

Then I’d stand where others froze

Not pure, not clean, not unscarred

Just still here… and hitting back hard

I stayed

Not because it hurt less

I stayed

Because someone had to stand in this mess

Let them call my halo black

It burned learning how to crack

If my wings are torn and frayed

They’re wide enough to block the blade

I stayed

I wasn’t saved by miracles.

I stayed long enough

to become one for someone else.

I was held together by one woman who tried.

And when that wasn’t enough…

When I saw the same pain in others…

I stayed...

And became the answer I was never given.

So they wouldn’t have to stand alone...

... I became enough for others.