Broken Me

You said I was crazy, said I lost my mind, said I was the problem every single time. Said I was angry, said I was cold, said I was broken, bitter, and old. Said I was dangerous, said I was mean, while you lit the fire. Said I was weak, used every wound I showed you to speak. You called me selfish when I couldn't pour, after sixteen years of giving you more. You called me cruel when I finally cried, but never named the ways that I died. You told the story with a victim face, made me the monster. But God saw the grief, and He knew the truth, He saw the pain I carried through. I know what I carried. I know what I gave. I know every battle I fought to stay. Broken me, broken me, That's who you needed me to be. Crazy enough so they wouldn't see, Wounded enough so you could leave. Broken me, broken me, You tried to bury what was left of me. But I ain't the lie that you sold for free, I'm the man who survived your broken me. You said I gave up, said I didn't try, like I wasn't praying just to stay alive. Said I abandoned, said I walked away, like you didn't turn home into judgment day. Said I was unstable, said I was lost, never told them what your peace had cost. Said I was failing, said I was done, while you kept your halo in front of everyone. You called me trauma like it was my name, then acted shocked when I named the game. You called me damaged, called me too much. Truth ain't hatred, grief ain't sin, and I won't apologize for breathing again. You said I was the storm, but you slammed the doors, said I was the war, but you kept score. Said I was unsafe, said I was the threat, while I was drowning in the debt. Said I was prideful, said I was wrong, for finding the strength to move along. Said I was faithless for needing peace, but God doesn't shame a man He sets free. You liked me better when I couldn't see, when I called prison loyalty. You wanted broken, silent, and small, a man who would bleed and still take the fall. But something woke up beneath the pain, and broken me started breaking the chain. This ain't me begging you to clear my name. This ain't me crawling back into shame. This ain't revenge, this is testimony. This is the truth that finally set me free. Broken me, broken me, That's who you needed me to be. Crazy enough so they wouldn't see, Wounded enough so you could leave. Broken me, broken me, You tried to bury what was left of me. But I ain't the lie that you sold for free, I'm the man who survived your broken me. I am not the words spoken over me, I am not the wounds used to define me. I walked through the fire and found God beside me. The broken man became healed, the silent man found his voice.