There's a story of a man at sea Who gave his name to a white whale He called it destiny But it was something he just couldn't release I had my own whale No flesh, no bone Just pressure in my lungs A shadow I kept chasing Across an endless horizon I mistook pride for strength Silence for control Loneliness for independence Years in open water Rowing against the tide Against the wind Against myself June split the hull inside my chest August drained what still could float By September I came back smaller Alive But nowhere close to whole I said it was ambition I said it was a calling But it was fear Of not being enough alone I kept hunting my white whale Naming every wound "a war" Calling every loss "a lesson" While I drifted farther from shore And the harder I fought The deeper I sank You never asked me to win You never asked me to fight You never asked me to prove I was worth staying beside But you didn't drop an anchor either You didn't cage me Didn't drag me to safety You just stood there At the end of my unlit street Rain falling, steady heartbeat Saying we could face it If I chose to stay And for the first time I let the harpoon fall For the first time I stopped chasing the horizon For the first time I chose you