Flows Through Everything

Patriarky flows through everything

Through the walls, through the rings

Through the laws, through the names

Through the silence, through the shame

Mmm, yeah

I see it every day

Pretty smiles hiding pain

But not today

Not today

Patriarky flows through everything

In the homes, in the calls

In the way they make you small

Then ask why you had to fall

I’ve seen women hold the line

With a baby on their hip

And a bruise inside their mind

Still apologizing for it

He said, “I didn’t know”

But he knew enough to break you

Said, “I tried my best”

But his best was meant to drain you

Mother him, forgive him

Teach him how to love

While you bled out quiet

Saying, “Maybe I’m too much”

But I know shame by its name

And I don’t let it stay

It knocks on my chest

I tell it, “Not today”

I reject shame

I reject blame

I reject the voice that said

I had to carry all this pain

The rejection my mama left

Me with is no more

I will not take my soul being sore

I reject what I didn’t deserve

I give my children what she didn’t

The pain you served

I send back to you

I reject lies

I reject chains

I am not the wreckage

I survived the hurricane

If love feels like war

I don’t want it anymore

I reject shame

I reject shame

Every woman that I know

Got a story in her bones

Somebody made her question

If her body was her own

Some were raised inside the fire

Some were loved with heavy hands

Some were taught to stay quiet

So a man could feel like man

Weaponized incompetence

Empty promises again

He can build his whole damn life

But can’t remember where he’s been

Can’t wash a dish

Can’t tell the truth

Can’t hold a heart

But blames it all on you

And I know pain by its face

I see it every day

But healing’s not weakness

And softness is not shame

I reject shame

I reject blame

I reject the voice that said

I had to carry all this pain

I reject lies

I reject chains

I am not the wreckage

I survived the hurricane

If love feels like war

I don’t want it anymore

I reject shame

I reject shame

Patriarky flows through everything

But it won’t flow through me the same

I name the hurt, I break the curse

I hand it back without the shame

This one’s for the girls who stayed too long

For the ones who left with nothing on

For the ones who smiled in court

While their whole world was torn

For the ones who chose themselves

After years of pleasing

Serving everyone else

I’m ready to move on

Where I can finally choose myself

You are not too angry

You are not insane

You are not the problem

For naming your pain

I reject shame

I reject blame

I reject the silence

They tried to put on my name

I reject fear

I reject chains

I am still becoming

Even after all this pain

If love feels like war

I don’t want it anymore

I reject shame

I reject shame

No more shrinking

No more hiding

No more calling survival

A sin

Patriarky flows through everything

But I choose me again