I will not shrink to match the shadows of another’s mood.
I will not hand over the keys to my joy.

Let them be silent,
let them be distant,
let them be lost in storms I cannot calm.

I will still open my hands to the sun,
still tend to the space I call home,
still do the things that make my spirit rise.

Because the only heart I can command
is the one beating in my own chest
and I choose for it to beat in peace.