Before Wing or Crown Before the iron learned the hand, Before the throat discovered plea, There stirred a warmth beneath the bone That kept its ancient watch in me. No name was set upon that heat, No altar taught it how to kneel, It only knew the ash of law And how the living learn to feel. Before wing or crown, Heat remembered who would burn And wait unclaimed. She came not cloaked in gentler signs, Nor bound with mercy, vow, or chain, But stood where fire refuses shape And listens harder than it reigns. No summons crossed her quiet mouth, Spell not broken, bent, nor sealed, Yet flame inclined its unseen spine To what her stillness dared to yield. Before wing or crown, Heat remembered who would burn And wait unclaimed. Before wing or crown, Heat remembered who would burn And wait unclaimed. I have worn years like timber dries, Each season fed the ember’s due, I learned the cost of standing fast When fire outlives the form it knew. Not all who burn are meant to rise, Not all who rise have ever fled, Some are appointed only this To keep the flame where others bled. No vow was spoken. No debt forgiven. Only the old accord resumed. Ash to ash, not as ending, But as rebirth. Before wing or crown, Heat remembered who would burn And wait unclaimed. Before wing or crown, Heat remembered who would burn And wait unclaimed. When dawn at last puts language on the dark, Let others name it fall or flame. I will remain where fire stood first And answer only what remains.
