Triumph of loss

It was always me rehearsing apologies in the mirror,

Slow-dancing with the cracks just to make us look clearer.

I won battles in a war I was losing by design,

Every medal on my chest was a scar in disguise.

You said, “Try harder,” like I wasn’t out of breath,

I learned to live on leftovers just to earn what was left.

I bent every rule to fit the shape you drew,

Still every flaw wore my name, never you.

(delivery note: chest voice, smooth legato, behind-the-beat phrasing)

I held my breath, you dug your heels in the ground,

Called it love—but love shouldn’t feel like you’re shutting me down.

You took what I gave, then you cut the safety net,

Left me free-falling through the words you never said.

I was hollow, I was haunted, now I’m calling it out,

You don’t get to own the way I heal now.

Rewrite the story, put the blame on my spine,

But my spirit wasn’t broken by you—

It just learned how to survive.

(delivery note: wide vowels, stacked harmonies, no shouting — power through tone)

When I asked you to meet me somewhere in the middle,

You vanished so fast, guess commitment’s that brittle.

Like a punchline that landed and nobody laughed,

Just the sound of you leaving echoing back.

You went quiet, pulled the plug, cut the sound,

Your absence hit harder than you sticking around.

I replayed the past like a crime scene at dawn,

Looking for effort where excuses were drawn.

Love can starve when only one heart bleeds,

And I confused your comfort for meeting my needs.

I called it patience, I called it proof,

But staying hurt isn’t the same as staying true.

You took what I gave, then you cut the safety net,

Left me free-falling through the words you never said.

I was hollow, I was haunted, now I’m calling it out,

You don’t get to own the way I heal now.

Rewrite the story, say I’m the reason it died,

But my spirit wasn’t broken by you—

It just learned how to survive.

Maybe hope looks like clarity dressed up in pain,

Seeing red flags stitched deep into your name.

You didn’t ruin me—you just showed the cost

Of loving someone who clocked out when it got hard.

(drop to near-acapella → heartbeat rhythm → gradual stack-in)

You took what I gave, then you cut the safety net,

But I landed on my feet when you hedged your bets.

I was hollow, I was broken—now I’m wide awake,

Turns out effort’s a choice you never chose to make.

Say what you want, I’m done buying the lie,

My spirit wasn’t broken by you—

It was sharpened by the fight.

So here’s to the years I spent trying to be enough—

Turns out I was.

You just never showed up.