You Taught Me Bad

I was empty like a temple without a name
Asking questions, afraid of the flame

You said darkness is where wisdom grows
That the truth wears masks no one knows

You taught me bad
You taught me bad so I could see
The cost of losing parts of me

If light is earned by walking through black
Then maybe that's the gift you gave me back

I didn't learn love, I didn't learn glad
But I learned the shape of truth
Through bad

You said desire is a wheel that turns
That every touch is something burned

That saints and sinners drink the same
Just call it God, just call it shame

You taught me bad like a holy test
A wilderness inside my chest

You taught me bad so I'd awake
To what is real and what is fake

If truth is born when idols fall
Then maybe you were never wrong at all

I didn't learn love, I didn't learn glad
But I learned the weight of meaning
Through bad

Now I sit with silence, not afraid
Let questions breathe, let certainty fade

I thank the doubt that broke my skin
For teaching me where faith begin

You taught me bad, but not in vain
It drew the map inside the pain

You taught me bad, and now I see
What I am and what I'm not meant to be

If grace is found when myths collapse
When the seeker drops the map

I didn't learn peace, I didn't learn glad
But I learned how to return
From bad

No blame remains, no debt to pay
Even the night shows the way