THE BALLAD OF BECOMING
[Verse 1]
My mind beats the drum of an old Viking hymnal,
Not a rhythm but a war cry.
A cry from the marrow where ancestors whisper,
And shadows march behind my eyes.
Yet my body is still on a quiet porch swing,
Soaked in a southern gold.
A loyal dog paces and the pine trees guard me—
But no war comes to unfold.
[Pre-Chorus]
This is the paradox, this is the field,
This is the war my mind won’t yield.
I speak in symbols, I speak in fire,
Because plain words flatten desire.
[Chorus]
I’m becoming, I’m breaking the chains,
I’m leaving the fear that knows my name.
The past still bites, tomorrow’s far,
But today I rise and claim my heart.
I’m becoming—wings are stirring,
Not escape, but an emerging.
[Verse 2]
Fear lives here, it knows the door codes,
It settles and calls itself home.
It’s quiet, not screaming, but steady and heavy,
It drills like roots through bone.
I’ve endured so long I called it strength,
But strength is more than survive.
It’s daring to step from the road I was given
And choose a new way to arrive.
[Pre-Chorus]
What if leaving shows love’s proof?
They built a bridge, now I walk through.
Their rest became my rise, and now
I hear the homeward vow.
[Chorus]
I’m becoming, I’m breaking the chains,
I’m leaving the fear that knows my name.
The past still bites, tomorrow’s far,
But today I rise and claim my heart.
I’m becoming—wings are stirring,
Not escape, but an emerging.
[Bridge] (build & swell)
I see my father’s laugh, my brother’s hands,
The stories of my granddad’s land.
I go back not lost but ready,
I return to stand up steady.
Redemption, forgiveness, freedom sing—
Like Les Mis breaking everything.
[Chorus – big final]
I’m becoming, I’m breaking the chains,
I’m leaving the fear that knows my name.
The past still bites, tomorrow’s far,
But today I rise and claim my heart.
I’m becoming—wings are stirring,
Not escape, but an emerging.
[Outro – quiet]
This isn’t an escape, this is an emergence.
I’m not asking if I can go—
I’m saying: it’s time.
