The Wolf Rises

Prompt

[Intro — quiet piano, wind blowing soft] They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But I learned… you don’t have to grow on the same ground. [Verse 1] I grew up in a house where the silence screamed so loud Where his shadow stretched long and the drugs were in the clouds For years I blamed you, Ma — took his poison out on you Thought if you’d been stronger, it all wouldn’t come true I carried that anger like a stone inside my chest Too proud to speak, too hurt to ever confess Then you were gone before the words could leave my tongue “I’m sorry” stuck in my throat — and the damage was done I never got to say I saw the battles that you fought Never got to tell you I was sorry for the blame I brought [Verse 2] To my brothers and sisters — we didn’t talk much back then Tolerated each other, rough around the edges, not friends But hurt one hair on your head and the beast awoke in me These streets run red if you touch my family We didn’t have it easy, we didn’t have it kind But you’re the only ones I’ve got on this broken line [Chorus — voice softens, pain rises] Then I found you — my light in the dark Thought I’d broken the cycle, thought I’d made my mark We were gonna have a son — a future bright and new But the world turned cruel on the day I lost you You fought so hard to breathe, little heartbeat slipped away Mother and child — both gone before the break of day [Verse 3] That’s when the war inside me split my soul in two One side screaming rage, one side dying with you Years I walked that line between the dark and the light Fighting battles nobody sees but me at night A fallen man, broken down, nothing left to lose Until I found the strength to rise again renewed Not by fire, not by sword — but the grief that made me strong I walked away from the old ways where I didn’t belong [Bridge — quiet, visionary] Now I close my eyes and see you standing there Mother smiling, wife holding our boy with tender care Valhalla calls — a place where the pain ends Where every broken heart finally mends It’s not death I fear — it’s the promise I keep One day we’ll rest together in eternal sleep [Chorus — stronger, resolute] But until that day I’ll stand tall, I’ll stand proud A wolf in the shadows, head held through the clouds I broke the chains, I walked the hard road home My legacy rises from the ashes where I’ve grown You gave me love, you gave me hope even though you had to go I carry you forward — that’s how the wolf grows [Outro — piano fades to wind] From the fallen… the wolf rises. One day we’ll meet again. Until then — I walk for us. Forever yours.