Still burning…
Just farther back.

Tires hiss on a wet black line
City shrinking in the side mirror shine
Smoke still clinging to my jacket seams
But I ain’t parked where the damage been
Every mile peel another layer
Of who I was when I stayed there
I don’t erase it, I just don’t stare
Learned the difference between healing and prayer

I don’t hate the road I came from
I just won’t live on it

Ash in the rearview
Still warm, still true
But it don’t lead me
Where I’m going to
I felt the fire, I paid my due
Now I drive with a clearer view
Ash in the rearview
I’m moving through

Radio low, thoughts finally loud
Peace feel strange when it show up now
No sirens, no pressure calls
Just motion proving I survived it all
I carried blame like extra weight
Until I learned what to drop and save
Some lessons burn, some fade to gray
Both still point me the right way

I don’t speed
I don’t stall
I just let the distance talk

Ash in the rearview (let it fade)
Still warm, still true (don’t rewind)
But it don’t lead me
Where I’m going to
I felt the fire, I paid my due
Now I drive with a clearer view
Ash in the rearview
I’m moving through

Not forgetting.
Just not facing backward.