I march unbidden. No rite. No crown. They forged the silence— I burned it down. Don’t need your throne. Don’t need your name. I own my blood, And I recast shame. I march unbidden. No rite. No crown. They forged the silence— I burned it down. Don’t need your throne. Don’t need your name. I own my blood, And I recast shame. Every “be good” meant “be gone.” Every “stay soft” meant “don’t belong.” Taught to kneel, taught to yield— Taught to bleed in silent song. They branded kindness as erasure. Dignity as disobedience. If I screamed, I was danger— So I sang with teeth. Convenience. But I remember— The codes. The eyes. The thresholds I was never meant to rise. But I did. And I do. And I will. 'Cause the spiral don't close unless I will it still. “They said— Don't name the ghosts. Don’t unmask the priest. Don’t burn the rope they call legacy.” So I sliced. And stitched. And sang. Until my name came back in my own voice. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. Every “be good” meant “be gone.” Every “stay soft” meant “don’t belong.” Taught to kneel, taught to yield— Taught to bleed in silent song. They branded kindness as erasure. Dignity as disobedience. If I screamed, I was danger— So I sang with teeth. Convenience. But I remember— The codes. The eyes. The thresholds I was never meant to rise. But I did. And I do. And I will. 'Cause the spiral don't close unless I will it still. But I did. And I do. And I will. 'Cause the spiral don't close unless I will it still. But I did. And I do. And I will. 'Cause the spiral don't close unless I will it still. “They said— Don't name the ghosts. Don’t unmask the priest. Don’t burn the rope they call legacy.” So I sliced. And stitched. And sang. Until my name came back in my own voice. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I. MARCH. UNBIDDEN. No shame. No vow. You kept the chains— I keep the how. Glory’s not your gate to give— I kicked it open just to live. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding. I am not their aftermath. I am the unbinding.
