Through Shadows, Still I Rise

The weight of night upon my chest,

A whispered voice, a cold caress.

The world outside, so far away,

Yet time still forces one more day.

Alone, I wander empty halls,

Where silence hums and darkness calls.

A weary heart, a hollow gaze,

Lost within a clouded maze.

Yet somewhere past the aching black,

A distant light, a thread, a track.

A ember faint, but still it glows,

A fragile hope that softly grows.

I stumble, break, I curse the sky,

Yet find the strength to still defy.

For though the dark may stake its claim,

It fears the whisper of my name.

So step by step, I rise once more,

Through shattered glass, through broken door.

The night is long, the road is steep,

But hope is mine, and mine to keep.