First Flight

Mmm... Mama lit the lamp for me,
Papa sang in silence...
I held the sky in my chest
but never knew it could break.

Little hands, heavy dreams,
Barefoot truth and broken seams,
They raised me on faith and flame,
Now I walk out to find my name.

Where you gonna go now, child?
(Forward!)
What you gonna leave behind?
(My name, my fear.)
What you gonna carry now?
(Their love, my fire!)
Where you flyin’ to?
(Myself!)

I don’t forget that porch light glow,
I don’t unlove the hands that sewed,
But this cocoon is now too tight,
I’m wings and want and soul in flight.

I cried in the hallway.
I left a note on the mirror.
I folded my past in my suitcase,
but I kept the echo of her lullaby.

Not runnin’—I’m risin’
Not losin’—I’m shapeshiftin’
Not leavin’—I’m transformin’
Not gone—I’m becomin’!

Where you gonna go now, child?
(Forward!)
What you gonna build from pain?
(My wings, my name!)
What you gonna give back now?
(The love they gave me!)
Who you gonna be?
(New me!)

Still smell her Sunday stew,
Still hear his bootstep truth,
I don’t erase—I echo.
I don’t replace—I grow.

Where you gonna fly now, child?
(Higher!)
What you gonna sing now, child?
(Truth!)
Who you gonna carry now?
(Them!)
What you gonna be now?
(Me!)

I loved them.
I love them.
I’m flying...
And I still remember...