The Tide

(To my mom. Rest in peace) The Tide Took You You were a child of bitter rooms, Where love was rationed, thin as thread. Your mother's eyes were winter moons, And every word your father said Was laughter at the cost of you — A careless king, a fleeting flame. He left you with the dark residue, And never once pronounced your name. Your aunts, they spoke in silver knives, Their tongues were sharp, their hearts were stone. They carved their spite into your life, And left you standing all alone. Your brother wore his crown of pride, He fed his ego, starved your soul — He held you down, he pushed aside, He made you feel you weren't whole. The tide took you, the tide took you — It washed away the salt of tears. The tide took you, the tide took you — It carried you through all the years. From bitter shores to open sea, From chains of grief to mystery — The tide took you, and set you free. You found a boy with summer hands, He promised you the moon and stars. But he was made of shifting sands, He left his footprints, then he was gone. He was the echo of your father's ghost, A fleeting heart, a passing flame — He gave you love, but loved you most The moment that you spoke his name. You bore a son from that brief fire, A ghost you carried in your soul. He was the shadow, the lost desire, The one who never made you whole. And I am that son, the one who came From love that couldn't hold the light — I am your sorrow, I am your name, I am the child of the night. The tide took you, the tide took you — It washed away the salt of tears. The tide took you, the tide took you — It carried you through all the years. From bitter shores to open sea, From chains of grief to mystery — The tide took you, and set you free. Then came a man with steady hands, Who stayed when others turned away. He built for you a gentle land, Where you could rest and finally stay. He gave you children — one, then two — A boy and girl to fill the space. And in their eyes, you saw the blue Of oceans in a sunlit place. You learned to love without the fear, You learned to trust the solid ground. But ghosts don't vanish, they stay near, They wait for cracks to gather 'round. Your mother's voice, a poison thread, Still whispered in your hollow ear — "I told you, you would end like this, You were never meant to be loved, my dear." You pushed him, tested every shore, You tried to break what you could hold. You hurt him, and you hurt him more, Until his steady hands grew cold. You screamed the words your mother said, You wore her cruelty like a crown — You watched the peace you had begin To slowly, quietly, drown. And he, who loved you all along, Could only watch you slip away. Your heart had learned the bitter song Your mother taught you, day by day. And I, the ghost of that first fire, I watched you fall back to the night — I am your wound, I am your ache, I am the shadow in your light. The tide took you, the tide took you — But not to peace, not to release. The tide took you, the tide took you — Back to the darkness, back to grief. From gentle shores to bitter sea, From what you were to what you'd be — The tide took you, and broke you free. You carried me inside your bones, A wound that never fully healed. I heard your whispers, heard your moans, I felt the weight of what you concealed. You were the moon, you were the tide, You were the storm, you were the calm — But in the end, you couldn't hide From the poison of your mother's psalm. The tide took you... The tide took you... But it took you back to where you started... The tide took you... And I am still here... The tide took you...