Echos from the shadows

They still think I vanished…

Nah.

I just learned what silence sounds like.

I used to fly where the sirens cried,

Cape in the wind, city in my eyes,

They cheered my name, said I was chosen,

Now every mirror show something broken.

I bled for streets that don’t say my name,

Took every hit, still took the blame,

When the sky fell, I hit the ground,

Woke up buried where hope ain’t found.

I watched from the shadows you now command,

Saw the mayor shake your hand,

You call it order, I call it chains—

Different words for the same old pain.

I ain’t gone, I just lost the light,

Tried to save the world every night,

If monsters rule ’cause I wasn’t there,

Then that weight?

Yeah, I wear it.

I’m still here in the dark, breathing slow,

City above me don’t even know,

They sleep safe while I count my scars,

Hero faded, not dead, just far.

I need help, yeah, I’ll say it clear,

Not to save my pride—just what’s still here,

If I stand alone, the city falls,

So I’m calling allies I never called.

I trusted justice, trusted law,

Trusted masks wouldn’t crack and fall,

But power ain’t clean, it stains the hands,

Turns good intentions into sand.

I hear your name in every breath,

They trade freedom for the absence of death,

You rule with fear, I ruled with faith,

Both leave bodies in their wake.

I don’t want thrones, I don’t want praise,

Just a city that don’t kneel to graves,

If saving it means I bleed again—

Then point me toward the fight, my friend.

I’m still here in the dark, breathing slow,

Broken halo, heavy soul,

They think I ran when the lights went out,

Truth is—I was screaming without a sound.

I need help, not to wear a crown,

But to tear the walls you put around,

If hope’s a weapon, dull and bent,

Then lend me yours…

Or let this end.

Statue of justice covered in ash,

I tried to hold it, cut my hands,

Maybe heroes aren’t meant to reign—

Just to rise when it hurts the same.

You took the city to keep it alive.

I lost myself trying to do the same.

So if I step out of the shadows now…

It won’t be for glory.

It’ll be for everyone who still believes

This city can breathe without fear.