SURVIVAL

They can leave me in the darkness They can't make me one of them I've carried strangers through the fire Lit their way and asked for nothing Gave them pieces of my spirit Just to watch them leave me empty I did the right thing in the darkness When there wasn't anyone to see But if kindness keeps on cutting What is kindness doing to me Every lie walks free Every truth pays the price Still, there's something in my heart I refuse to sacrifice This is survival Not just staying alive It's walking through the shadows Without losing all your light When the world makes you wonder If the good in you should die Stand tall, hold on That is survival Is this life a test of courage Does it measure how we bend Do the strongest keep believing Or just break before the end Should I change the way I'm living Build my walls and lock the door If the good has never served me Tell me what I'm fighting for Because the lies they tell Don't decide who I become They can leave me in the darkness They can't make me one of them This is survival Not just staying alive It's walking through the shadows Without losing all your light When the world makes you wonder If the good in you should die Stand tall, hold on That is survival Some nights, the silence gets so heavy And the sadness floods my mind I fight to turn the current But the tide won't always rise I am tired, I am wounded That does not mean I'm weak Even when my voice is trembling There is power when I speak I won't let the pain rewrite me I won't give my heart away What they did may leave a scar But it won't decide my fate This is survival More than winning the fight It's looking in the mirror And still knowing what is right Let the world keep testing Every truth I hold inside I'll bend, I'll bleed But I won't leave myself behind This is survival Still choosing love over spite Not because they all deserve it But because this heart is mine When the darkness comes to change me I will look it in the eyes Stand tall, hold on I did the right thing in the darkness When there wasn't anyone to see Maybe that was never weakness Maybe that is victory