Forged

I came here broken, carrying a name Rain in my eyes, ash in my veins Looking for somewhere to let it breathe Beneath unfamiliar skies The doors were open, voices bright New colors filled the air I learned to bend a melody And found new shapes in sound I brought a song into the light And set it down among the flames I thought a room could make me whole Before it tried to reshape my name I brought my broken history And laid it on the page Found friends inside the speakers Found fire inside the stage Every challenge changed my vision Every failure left a spark I thought I’d found a place to grow A shelter from the dark Then one day the room grew colder Though nobody closed the door The smiles remained above me But I couldn’t reach them anymore No bell announced the border No hand revealed the chain Just a mark beneath my name And a story I couldn’t change Salt in the wound, iron in the rain A faceless hand put fire to my name While golden voices sang above The furnace swallowed what I was Chain by chain, I felt it bite Blackened metal, blinding light Let the anvil ring my fate— I entered broken, I leave here forged I watched the others gather In the warmth I wanted too Songs rose through the open room And kindness still came through That was what made it harder— It was never all a lie There were honest hands and open hearts Just never mine beside them that night I tried to speak in plain words But the furnace had its tongue Every answer fed the fire Every silence came undone The more I fought to clear the smoke The deeper sank the brand So I stopped begging for a place That only let me stand I came to share my music Not to kneel beneath a name A room can hold a thousand voices And still become a cage Salt in the wound, iron in the rain A faceless hand put fire to my name While golden voices sang above The furnace swallowed what I was Chain by chain, I felt it bite Blackened metal, blinding light Let the anvil ring my fate— I entered broken, I leave here forged Rain fell down through silver tears The golden hall went far She saw me underneath the chain Still breathing in the dark No prophecy, no chosen hand No savior from the sky Just one old witness in the rain Who watched me face the fire まだ終わってない *Mada owattenai.* It’s not over yet. The chain was hot. The lock was thin. The fire had nowhere left to go. I pulled until the metal screamed. I pulled until the links let go. She saw the smoke around me But she never took the flame I carried every step alone And learned to bear my name Outside the walls, a distant light Answered what I made The music crossed the distance And the signal stayed awake I kept writing! I kept learning! I kept sending sparks beyond the rain! I found voices! I found open hands! I found my way again! The furnace left its fingerprints But not the shape of me The fire did not create this blade— It showed me how to leave Salt in the wound, iron in the rain You burned a mark, but not my name Let the bright room sing above I know the shape of what I was Chain by chain, I leave the night Ash behind me, dawn in sight Let the anvil ring and fade— I entered broken, I leave here forged I leave here forged I leave here forged Not what you made— What I became I don’t need your walls to carry Every song I have to give I don’t need a borrowed kingdom To decide how I should live She remains beside me As a witness to the flame She saw me step beyond the furnace She saw me reclaim my name 俺は俺になる *Ore wa ore ni naru.* I will become myself. She stood beside the open road The furnace burned below Watching me leave the shadow With a name I came to know The metal held. The chain broke. I’m not going back. The road is mine to follow.