(Verse 1 – low strings, solo cello, hushed)
I have walked through silent fire,
Every breath a psalm of pain.
Still my heart, though torn and shattered,
Beats defiant through the rain.

(Pre-Chorus – harp arpeggios, rising violins)
If mercy is a wound, I’ll wear it,
If kindness bleeds, I’ll let it glow.
Though the night devours my spirit,
One spark refuses to let go.

(Chorus – full orchestra crashes in, brass & choir)
Shadows carry me home,
Through the ashes, through the stone!
Call me fragile, call me strong—
I have suffered… I belong!
Shadows carry me home.

(Verse 2 – oboe solo, then swelling strings)
Every scar a sacred scripture,
Every tear a holy hymn.
Weakness is the mask of valor,
Strength ignites where fear begins.

(Pre-Chorus – choir enters softly, building)
If sorrow is the toll of living,
I have paid, and still I rise.
In the fracture lies the meaning,
In the ruin—God’s own eyes.

(Chorus – bigger, timpani rolls, choir in octaves)
Shadows carry me home,
Through the ashes, through the stone!
Call me fragile, call me strong—
I have suffered… I belong!
Shadows carry me home.

(Bridge – orchestra drops to piano + solo violin, then explodes)
(whispered, trembling)
Do not scorn this heart laid open…
(rising, voice cracking into a cry)
It bleeds—but it will never break!
The deeper the wound, the fiercer the flame—

I AM my sorrow… I AM my name!

(Full orchestra + 40-voice choir, brass fanfare) (Final Chorus – slow, cathedral-like, then triumphant crescendo)
Shadows… carry me home,
Through the ashes… through the stone…
Though I crumble, though alone—
I will rise… I will atone.
SHADOWS CARRY ME…
(final held note, orchestra sustains, choir ascends)
…HOME.