I used to pour the nights into chipped glass Smile painted on, though it never quite fit Men came and went like storms through the door But at least that life was mine, every broken bit I sold my time, my touch, my tired body For a room, for a meal, for a place to stand And sometimes a kindness slipped through the smoke Like Willem’s voice, warm as his gentle hand Now the bar’s just ash in a memory And I’m wearing someone else’s face Dragged from the life I barely owned Into this cold, unchosen place But my name is Raice, and I will not be forgotten I am not Gya, though they want me to be My name is Raice, I will play this role never forgotten, I will be who they want me to be The mercenary watches with a predator’s calm Says I should be grateful he rescued me He reminds me of every shame I survived As if chains weren’t enough to make me see He wants me pliant, perfect, obedient A ghost of the woman I resemble But he forgets that I learned long ago How to live through nights that made grown men tremble I remember Willem’s gentle laugh How he asked my name like it mattered Now he’s gone, and I’m trapped in this lie But I won’t let my spirit be shattered for my name is Raice, and I will not be forgotten I am not Gya, though they want me to be My name is Raice, I will play this role never forgotten, I will be who they want me to be I’ve survived hands rougher than his Nights darker than this locked room I’ve learned to smile through danger And rise from places meant to be my tomb If I must wear her face to stay alive Then I’ll wear it like armor, not chains But beneath the mask, beneath the costume My blood still sings my name My name is Raice, carved deep in my bones I will not be Gya, no matter how they try I may bend I won't break I won’t disappear I will live, I will outlast every shadow of fear They can force me to play another woman’s role But I’m still here still breathing still my own My name is Raice And I will not let it fade
