Ashes Still Speak

[Intro – minimal, eerie] “[pause, low tone] The fire still speaks in my dreams. Smoke in my lungs… scars on my skin. [sigh] Proof of battles I did not win, the final flame that I lit — and then, somehow survived." [Build – tension rising] [drawn out, harsher] They call me survivor. But it's just another word for broken. [pause, quieter] Another word for ‘too stubborn to die.’ [Verse – steady rhythm, dark groove] [whisper] Every night, I hear the crackle. Every night, I smell the ash. Every night, I feel the flame on my skin. [pause][rushed, bitter] And I wake up… still right here. Still burning from his sin. [Chorus / Spoken Refrain – full band hits] [drawn out, venomous] I am the ashes. I am the scar. I am the scream that will never be silenced. [pause, building] So if you see me standing tall— "it’s not forgiveness. It’s not healing. [harsher] It’s defiance." [shout] And that defiance is the only thing keeping me alive. [Bridge / Breakdown – stripped, raw, echo-heavy] [quieter, whisper] Do you know what it’s like to live inside the flames? To carry the fire wherever you go? [pause, sharp laugh] Of course you don’t. Nobody does but me.” [Final Chorus – crushing, full band] [shouting, venomous] I am the ashes! I am the scar! I am the scream that will never be silenced. [long pause, softer, fading] The fire still speaks in my dreams. And every morning… I answer.” [whisper] The fire dies… but it never leaves. [pause] Ashs settle into my veins, scars whisper across my skin. [softer tone] You call it survival. I call it haunting. [pause] With every breath, there is smoke. Every dream burns in the flame. [drawn out, fading] "I am not healed. I am not whole. You can not save me. [outro - minimal, eerie] [whisper, almost gone, soft tone] For I am the embers… waiting to burn again."