Some light is given. Some light is earned. I didn’t wake up shining bright I crawled through miles of endless night I paid for peace with sleepless years Paid for strength with hidden tears Every little calm I feel Came from wounds I had to heal Every breath that feels like mine Took a war I can’t rewind They see the glow, not where it came Not the ash inside the flame Not the days I had to choose Between myself and what I’d lose This light is not luck, not chance Not a pretty circumstance This is survival turned to gold A quiet fire I learned to hold I don’t shine because it’s easy I shine because I burned Every scar became a lesson Every lesson became earned This is the light I earned After every bridge that burned After every night I turned Pain into something I learned This is the light I keep Even when the shadows speak I didn’t find it in the world I found it buried under me I earned this smile, earned this peace Earned every chain that I release Earned every boundary I defend Earned every chapter I can end I earned the right to breathe again Without apologizing when I choose myself, I choose my road I put down what I used to hold No more begging for approval No more fear dressed as refusal No more letting broken hands Tell me where my future stands This light is mine, this fire stays Built from nights and better days If darkness wants to call my name It knows I don’t return the same I used to think light meant innocence. Now I know… Sometimes light is what remains after everything else burns away. This is the light I earned After every bridge that burned After every night I turned Pain into something I learned This is the light I keep Even when the shadows speak I didn’t find it in the world I found it buried under me I didn’t borrow this light. I earned it.
