I Have Walked This Road Before

I know that look you wear so well—

Not hunger, not delight,

But something colder than ambition

That keeps you standing upright.

I’ve seen that stillness take a shape,

He wore it like a crown,

And I buried the man beneath it

When the world burned down.

Refrain

I have walked this road before,

I know where it will bend,

It starts with strength and silence

And ends with “this must end.”

They’ll praise you for your distance,

They’ll need you for your flame—

And one day you’ll look around and see

No one left to say your name.

Verse II (Her)

They will call you what they need to—

Shield.

Weapon.

Last resort.

They will tell you love is weakness

And loss is just the cost.

You’ll learn to stand inside the fire

And pretend it doesn’t scar—

But fire doesn’t ask permission

When it takes what you are.

Refrain

I have walked this road before,

I waited at its end,

I watched a man choose everyone

And never choose a friend.

He thought sparing us the burden

Was the bravest thing to do—

But strength that never leans on love

Eventually breaks in two.

Bridge (spoken, close)

He never knew how much we could have carried.

Do not make the same mistake.

Verse III (Her)

I’m not here to stop you standing,

Or tell you not to fight,

The world will always need a wolf

To guard it through the night.

But do not let them make you stone,

Do not let them make you myth—

Because I have loved a legend once…

And buried

What was left of him.

Final Refrain (Her)

So when they sing your name too loud,

And when the armor fits,

Remember this is how it starts—

With no one left to miss.

You do not have to walk alone

Just to prove you can—

I am begging you to stay alive

As a man.

Outro (soft, unresolved)

I will not follow where you’re going.

I already know the way.

But if you ever turn around…

I will still be here

To say

You don’t have to burn

Just to be brave.