I rise from the flame.
No verdict, no mercy
Can give back my name.
I rise from the silence
You fashioned from shame.
I rise, I rise,
Unchained.
Let the crowd embrace your sorrow,
Let them pity what they see.
Their justice cannot resurrect
The girl you tried to bury in me.
Out of the ashes I claim my throne,
Crowned in embers, I stand alone.
Your justice cannot set me free,
Only the fire remakes me.
I rise from the ashes,
I rise from the flame.
No verdict, no mercy
Can give back my name.
I rise.
I rise.
Reborn in flame.
My head bows and rests against the piano. I close my eyes.
“Is that how you see me?”
Her voice carries from the doorway.
I turn. Tears glide down her cheeks, steady and unhidden.
“You see me as strong?”
I nod.
Her breath catches. Then she lifts her chin.
Light moves through her expression, luminous. Free.
