Chapter 4
Ink and Resilience
Through the act of writing, Anastasia begins to process her painful past. Her poetry becomes a sanctuary, a space where she can confront her memories, find solace, and slowly weave a narrative of resilience. PRISON IN MY OWN HOME [Verse 1] Four walls Same door I don't even cross the floor You still say I'm out there Doing things I can't afford You take every rumor Wear it like a crown Every word they whisper You load it like a round [Chorus] You say you want my love But you don't trust my name How can you hold my hand While you paint me with their blame If you really loved me You wouldn't tear me down I'm in a prison in my own home And you're the one who keeps me bound [Verse 2] I live in my bedroom Like a middle ward Counting all the stories You took as your sword Things I never said Things I never did You stack them like a sentence Over some invisible sin [Chorus] You say you want my love But you don't trust my name How can you hold my hand While you paint me with their blame If you really loved me You wouldn't tear me down I'm in a prison in my own home And you're the one who keeps me bound [Bridge] How do you not see it? How can you not know? Every time you doubt me Another crack grows If you believed my truth You'd let their words go But you keep them like trophies And I can't call this home [Chorus] You say you want my love But you don't trust my name How can you hold my hand While you paint me with their blame If you really loved me You'd lift me when I fall I'm in a prison in my own home And you built every single wall WHAT'S LEFT IS THE FIRE [Verse 1] It hurts It hurts so bad Hard to breathe Hard to stand You took my morning Stole my laugh My little spin in the kitchen My easy dance You lit a hope Then watched it fall Awakened every soft thing Just to crush it all [Chorus] You broke me open Shattered every part You took away my sunshine Now you’re proud of my dark? You twisted up my peace You tore through my trust I’m lying here in pieces But what’s left is the fire in the dust [Verse 2] My light inside Fading thin Pull the blinds Sleep again Can’t make myself Leave this bed Heavy quilt On my chest In my head How did I let you Write on my sky? How did I hand you My reason to try? Are you happy now With what you’ve done? You got what you wanted You Him—everyone [Chorus] You broke me open Shattered every part You took away my sunshine Now you’re proud of my dark? You twisted up my peace You tore through my trust I’m lying here in pieces But what’s left is the fire in the dust [Bridge] So let it burn slow In the cracks In the seams Tiny red embers Under dead dreams I don’t feel alive But I’m not just gone If ashes are all I am I’ll still glow on [Chorus] You broke me open Shattered every part You took away my sunshine But you can’t steal my spark You twisted up my peace You tore through my trust I’m lying here in pieces And what’s left is the fire What’s left is the fire In the dust PAIN SHAPES YOU 📝 --[Intro] Sometimes, it's not someone who comes into your life peacefully—it is truly loud. [Verse 1] You came into my life, threatening me, saying I stole your identity. You were on your way and I was going to jail and I told you, I have never stolen from anyone, I have never lied to anyone, I speak my mind and sometimes do stupid things. [Chorus] God said, pain shapes you, it's not meant to break you, But to build you up with the strength I placed within you. [Verse 2] I cried out to God and said, God, why me? Why do I have to go through so much pain? Why does everyone keep stealing from me? Don't they know they're stealing from you? I said, Lord, it's all in your control now—to prove me innocent. [Chorus] God said, pain shapes you, it's not meant to break you, But to build you up with the strength I placed within you. [Bridge] Then they showed up—an officer. They filled out, they searched my computer. They put a scanner on my computer, and eventually my innocence was proven, and I won my case. But that's when I met my soul mate. [Chorus] God said, pain shapes you, it's not meant to break you, But to build you up with the strength I placed within you. [Outro] It is who comes to make you question things, who changes your reality. Somebody who makes a before and then after in your life, that's what you did to me. [Chorus] God said, pain shapes you, it's not meant to break you, But to build you up with the strength I placed within you.--- So you can learn you are never alone SHATTERED 🦋 **[Intro]** Shadows fall, and silence breaks my flight Once I soared, In the quiet, I remember how it felt to fly **[Verse 1]** My wings shattered when I fell from above Tried to keep you safe, but it’s hard to love Time doesn't stop, it just rushes away I'm just a broken angel, lost in the fray When did I fall, was it madness or fate? **[Chorus]** So here I am, just a fallen soul Trying to mend what no longer feels whole With shattered wings and a heart laid bare I chase the dreams that vanish in thin air **[Verse 2]** Searching for happiness, in shadows I tread With a halo of crimson, I carry my dread Lost in the storm, where the darkness grows Who will catch me when the heartache blows? You were my light, in the depths of the night **[Chorus]** So here I am, just a fallen soul Trying to mend what no longer feels whole With shattered wings and a heart laid bare I chase the dreams that vanish in thin air **[Bridge]** Broken wings can heal with time Maybe hope survives in the ruins of my mind Would you see the angel through the tears? I still dream of the sky, learning how to try **[Chorus]** So here I am, just a fallen soul Trying to mend what no longer feels whole With shattered wings and a heart laid bare I chase the dreams that vanish in thin air **[Outro]** Broken but hopeful, I rise once again Searching for peace where the angels have been **[Chorus]** So here I am, just a fallen soul Trying to mend what no longer feels whole With shattered wings and a heart laid bare I chase the dreams that vanish in thin air......... DEATH THREATS [Verse 1] When I look into your eyesI see inside your soulYou don’t have to run, love’s not perfectThere will be battles, I know [Pre-Chorus] All I ask is that you love me like you mean itWalk beside me, holding my handDon’t be ashamed to be seen with me [Chorus] Because the minute I feel like I’m not good enoughOr my spirit voices tell me what you didI will run to protect my heart from breakingIt’s a sacred vow I take seriouslyThis is what you get [Verse 2] Once you give your heart to meThere’s no going back, I don’t believe in divorceI won’t be made into a scarletIf we fight, we don’t go to bed until we talk it out [Chorus]Because the minute I feel like I’m not good enoughOr my spirit voices tell me what you didI will run to protect my heart from breakingIt’s a sacred vow I take seriouslyThis is what you get [Bridge] I don’t go to second base on the first dateAnd I come with baggageI love kids, so if you have children, that’s okayWe can even adopt a few, but you should knowI can’t have any more [Chorus] Because the minute I feel like I’m not good enoughOr my spirit voices tell me what you didI will run to protect my heart from breakingIt’s a sacred vow I take seriouslyThis is what you get [Outro] I won’t judge you for your pastNo second base till we get a doctor’sClean bill of health, okay?This is what you get [Chorus] Because the minute I feel like I’m not good enoughOr my spirit voices tell me what you didI will run to protect my heart from breakingIt’s a sacred vow I take seriouslyThis is what you get
The blank page was a battlefield, and Anastasia, armed with a trembling pen, was the lone soldier. Each stroke of ink was a parry against the shadows, a tentative step forward on ground that had long been surrendered to the echoes of her past. The room, once a sanctuary of silent sorrow, now hummed with the quiet industry of creation. Sunlight, hesitant at first, began to filter through the lace curtains, casting dappled patterns on the worn rug, illuminating dust motes dancing like tiny, hopeful spirits.
She reread the words she had scrawled, a raw, unfiltered outpouring of the pain that had clung to her like a second skin. "PRISON IN MY OWN HOME" stared back, a stark testament to the invisible bars that had once held her captive. The lyrics spoke of accusations, of words worn like armor and loaded like bullets. *You say you want my love, but you don't trust my name.* The ache in her chest tightened, a familiar throb that had been dulled by sheer endurance but never truly extinguished. She remembered the whispers, the sidelong glances, the suffocating weight of unspoken judgments that had made her own home feel like a cage. It was a peculiar kind of torture, to be surrounded by those who should have been her haven, yet to feel utterly alone, misunderstood, and condemned.
The echoes of the past, those insidious whispers that had once paralyzed her, still lingered at the edges of her consciousness. They were the spectral figures that haunted the hallways of her memory, the cold breath on the back of her neck. But now, as she committed them to paper, they seemed to lose some of their power. They became stories, narratives she could observe from a distance, rather than visceral experiences that consumed her. The act of writing was like building a bridge over a chasm, each word a plank laid down, sturdy and deliberate.
Keep reading "Ink and Resilience"
The full chapter is in the AIBookCraft app — free to read, with your spot saved.
Free on iOS & Android · No signup to read