Ash and Mercy

The fire’s gone low, but it still glows red,

In the scars and the songs and the things I said.

I made my peace with the pain I’ve earned,

Some lessons only stick when they burn.

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I ain’t holy, I ain’t damned,

Just a man doin’ the best I can.

I’ve loved like thunder, lied like rain,

And I’d do it all again the same.

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I’m half ash, half mercy, all burned clean,

Somewhere in between what I was and what I mean.

Don’t need no crown, don’t need no key,

Just a little grace for the hell in me.

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I still hear her name in the smoke at night,

Soft and cruel in the amber light.

But I don’t chase it, I let it fade,

That’s the price for the man I made.

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Every scar’s a psalm I learned to sing,

Every sin just taught me wings.

If there’s heaven, I’ve seen its edge,

It’s the space between loss and pledge.

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I’m half ash, half mercy, all burned clean,

Built my peace in the space unseen.

Don’t need forgiveness, I just need free,

And a little love for the hell in me.

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So lay me down in the soot and grace,

I found my God in the broken place.

If sin’s the cost of feelin’ free,

Then I’ll die ash and mercy.