When The Links Give Way

Rust on my wrists in the shape of a day

Keys in my pocket that never fit the frame

Streets hum softly like iron that prays

I count my footsteps, weighing every chain

I feel the hairline cracks in steel

A pressure wave that starts to heal

Breath like a hammer in my chest—revealed

The lock was me; the turning's real

Hear the chains break—break—break away

I won't wear what kept me safe as clay

When the links give way, I learn my name

I'm the strike, the spark, the open flame

Hear the chains break—break—break today

Ringing on the ground where fear once lay

I kept a key under tongue and doubt

Bit down on echoes till the noise burned out

Moonlight drew maps on my shoulder blades

Showing all the routes that the metal made

I trace the fault lines, breathe them thin

Every brittle story shedding skin

Silence turning into wind

Room grows wider from within

Freedom isn't handed, it's a sound

The quiet after metal hits the ground

I hold that hush until it blooms

Then step through doors that weren't rooms

Hear the chains break—break—break away

I won't carry yesterday's array

When the links give way, I claim my frame

I'm the strike, the spark, the living flame

(Tag) Let 'em break—break—break—let 'em fade

Ringing on the floor where fear once stayed

Last link still humming as the lights all sway—

I walk on, lighter, when the links give way