They called me names before I knew What any of those names could do. I wore them young,I wore them long, Till every insult sounded strong. Too loud,too rough,too proud,too strange, Too angry,too much,never change. They threw their words like little stones, Then walked away and left the bones. At school,in halls,behind my back, Every laugh became attack. I learned to square my shoulders wide, Like armor growing from inside. But armor built from other voices Still belongs to someone else. I carried every word they gave me Like a sentence on myself. You gave me names,I gave them power, Carried them through every hour. But I am done defending lies You wrote across my younger life. Take them back,every accusation, Every label,every declaration. I am not the word you chose. I decide the name I own. One said failure,one said threat, One said useless,don't forget. One said monster,one said weak, One made jokes each time I'd speak. Years went by,but there they stood, Old commands beneath the blood. Then I asked who gave them rank, Who made their judgment something sacred? No crown,no law,no battlefield Made their opinion truth. They were only people talking. I was the one who carried proof. You gave me names,I gave them power, Carried them through every hour. But I am done defending lies You wrote across my younger life. Take them back,every accusation, Every label,every declaration. I am not the word you chose. I decide the name I own. If somebody named your weakness Till you answered when they called, If one stupid word from years ago Still follows down the hall, Hear me now:you owe it nothing. Drop it where it first began. You were never born to carry Someone else's version of who you are. Take them back,the names you gave me. They don't command me,they don't shape me. Every scar can keep its history, But it doesn't write what's next for me. I survived every accusation, Now I choose my definition. Say my name and hear it strong. This life is mine.I march on. They gave me names. I gave them years. No more. I know who I am.
