Precipice

My ghosts in the dark always take the shape of you
They linger in corners I thought I outgrew
Beyond the bruises and the scars of you
At twenty-three, I had no clue

I learned to silence myself to keep peace
Learned love shouldn’t come with conditions or teeth

You said time would soften the ache
But time just showed me what I escaped

By twenty-nine I carried away my baby
Fought tooth and nail just to save me
Clawed my way out of the grave you dug
With shaking hands, the truth I couldn’t make her stay for love

I stood at the precipice, finally free
A transformation born out of grief
I wish you knew how much you shaped this
Your manifestation of the scarred, and the fierce

You don’t hear the echoes, the copies of pain
Reflections in time still whisper your name
They knock in my chest when the nights get long
Like broken bells in an old church song

I needed someone to help me heal
But you picked at scabs just to watch me bleed

You called it honesty, called it truth
But cruelty dressed up is still abuse

By twenty-nine I carried away my baby
Fought tooth and nail just to save me
Clawed my way out of the grave you dug
With shaking hands, the truth, I couldn’t make her stay for love

I stood at the precipice, finally free
A transformation born out of grief
I wish you knew how much you shaped all this
The woman I am—the scarred, the fierce

I don’t hate you
I survived you
And you’re still blinded by the lies you grew 
You tried to break me down to bone
But I grew roots where you left stones

Now the ghosts still come with your face and don’t stay
I didn’t fall—I learned to fly
From the edge you pushed me to leave it all behind

I stood at the precipice, looked down, then through
And found the life for us that never needed you

My ghosts in the dark still look like you
But they don’t own me
They never do

Sleep token 
Hard 
Metal 
Raw 
Female singer, metal, power metal, violin