Unashamed in the Flame

I was taught to bow my head and wait for someone else to call me clean Told to swallow every bruise and pretend the ache was part of some unseen routine But the nights carved deeper truths than any sermon ever dared to speak No hand reached down to save me only the part of me that refused to break So I stopped begging the sky for mercy and listened to the scars that never lied to me I am not what broke me But it broke And I remained I walked into the burning Learned to breathe Inside the flame I don't carry it like shame I carry it like direction Every scar a reminder In the only language That I really ever understood I did things I’m not proud of just to make it through the rooms that wanted me erased I buried pieces of myself and called it “growth” because I couldn’t face the waste But the truth kept clawing back dragging every memory into open air And I learned the cost of living is admitting what was always there So I stopped dressing my wounds in silence and let them speak in the voice I tried to kill I am not what broke me But it broke And I remained I walked into the burning Learned to breathe Inside the flame I don't carry it like shame I carry it like direction Every scar a reminder In the only language That I really ever understood No cross is coming to save me No heaven waiting to rewrite what I’ve done This world is the only altar And I stand on it Unarmed Unhidden Unashamed I am not what broke me But it broke And I remained I walked into the burning Learned to breathe Inside the flame I don't carry it like shame I carry it like direction Every scar a reminder In the only language That I really ever understood I walk in the flame unashamed Every scar is proof I lived