Echoing Roar

The end of the year—time to reflect, they say,
But not for me, I’ll look the other way.
Why ponder the past when the future’s in sight?
The tide is shifting, rising in might.

Waves crash forward, no course can predict,
Uncertainty certain, the challenges thick.
Not just in IT or AI, but in life’s broad span,
The storm is brewing—yet here I stand.

“Bring it on,” I say, with a daring grin,
Like a pirate captain, I’ll dive right in.
The seas may roar, the winds may fight,
But I’ll steer my ship through the darkest night.

Here’s to the year ahead—uncharted and vast,
Let’s face it boldly, with sails full mast.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

The world is changing,
Time is moving.

You wonder why you are still standing in the same spot,
Questioning your actions,
Doubting if you're making mistakes.
That is your own fault.
You got caught up in your own hands,
Sitting and waiting for something to change.
That is your own fault,
Because life is in your hands.

But time ain’t waiting for anyone,
So don’t wait for time to pass by.
Time ain’t waiting for you,
So do what you gotta do.

Why don’t you stop?
Take hold of everything!

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Distance and time might keep us apart,
Yet longing persists within our heart.
A thread binding us, ever so tight,
Crossing time and space, its gentle might.

The year draws near its end once more,
A chance to wish as the stars soar.
To reunite with family and friends,
To cherish the joy that never ends.

Let us rise and make a change,
Restore the world, rearrange.
In unity, our strength will grow,
Together, we'll face every foe.

With hearts ablaze, we'll forge tomorrow,
A world of peace, free from sorrow.
Our land adorned with joy and light,
A pearl in the sky, forever bright.

Oh, our home, our sacred ground,
Your call to us, a resounding sound.
No matter the cost, no matter the strain,
We'll save our soil, and end the pain.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Day by day,
The chains grow tighter,
Their wrists can barely twist.
Screams of agony echo,
Aching in their hearts,
Awaiting the day to be heard and seen.

Those racists are not evil,
They're ignorant and lost,
Imprisoned not by chains,
But by their own agendas.

At times, the sight of freedom is vague,
Hard to see the light.
Slaves have something thy foes did not:
They have each other.
The day they strike back—
Will surely be a reckoning.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Every day, we meet,
Everyone we indulge.
Every turn, we twist,
Every twist, we alter.
And I, for one,

I twisted! I have turned!
I altered! I have changed!

Every hour we meet,
You say I am a saint.
No, I ain’t a saint no more!

I flew, I have fallen!
I twisted, tried to fly again!
No, I ain’t flying no more!

My wings have twisted and broken,
No, I ain’t a saint no more!

I twisted! I have turned!
I altered! I have changed!
No! No! No!
I ain’t a saint no more.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Humanity under attack,
An invisible foe laughing back.

Our hearts weep in ceaseless pain,
Fear and solitude echo in the silent abyss again.

Hear us, Invisible Foe!
You will not break our flow.
We stand united,
Together, resilient and ignited.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Burning fire through my eyes,
Every turn I take,
A blow of heated wind runs into my eyes.
Every step I take,
Burning fire flames beneath my feet.

When you see through my eyes,
You see the fire burning within my soul.
Like a shining star, my burning soul—
Every step I take, every turn I make,
A burning fire flashes into my eyes.

Oh, if hell is the fire,
My flaming soul, a force to inspire,
Shaking hell into ashes, afar,
Clearing my path like a radiant star.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Uncertainty,
Unknown the difference between need and want.
We call it greed.
We want jewelry, affection, money, and even more.

We name it all.
We think we can have it all,
Yet obstacles get in our way,
And obstacles can't be shaken away.

We force them to slide away,
Only to regret it the next day.
We want it all, yet we shouldn't have it all.
And when we do, we regret,
We blame greed.

Yet is it greed's fault?

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

There is nothing black and white,
Don’t ever believe…
In what you see!
Don’t ever believe
In what they say!

For it can never be
What they appear to be…
Who appears to be an angel is the devil.
Who appears to be beauty is actually ugly.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Run to the sky,
Beyond the mountain.
No, I'm not gonna stop.

Don't try to stop me,
You broke my heart,
And the devil runs in my veins—
Told me to run at the speed of light.

So, I'm gonna run to the sky,
Beyond the mountains.
I will break every rock in my road,
I will pass every ocean in my pathway.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

I’m lost for words, don’t you see?
In the web of excuses, I entangle me.
I’ve crossed lines, no denying,
Actions that might leave you sighing.

I tread where I shouldn’t go,
Yet, you don’t know, you don’t know.
I’ve crossed lines, I confess,
Hidden truths cause this distress.

Dear friend, I’m unapologetic,
For the path I chose, energetic.
I don’t care if it stings,
If it nudges you to spread your wings.

Out of line, it may seem,
A reality, or just a dream.
Lines crossed for your reflection,
To steer you from a wrong direction.

You might resent, hate me today,
But down the road, you'll find a way.
To thank the one who dared to interfere,
And made you see a truth crystal clear.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Being a survivor wasn't my choice.
I've gone through the toughest life road.
Some might call it hell,
Others might call it sad,
Some might consider it a challenge,
A miracle that I consider.

Almost dead, countless times,
But I got away.
A building collapsed; oddly, I was there.
Many have died, yet I escaped.
Watched loved ones pass in front of my eyes,
Yet I lived on.
Drugs I craved, yet I avoided.
Friends who sold me out,
Yet I survived.

A survivor—that's what I am.
Different—that's who I am.
Religion, I choose.
Survival, I did not choose.
Strength, I choose.

The fear I might be hurt will never escape me.
So I say this to the world:
Dare and break me,
Dare and hurt me,
And I promise you—you will fail.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Every time I try not to fall,
I keep falling down,
Into the depths of the Abyss.

Every time I find my way out of the Abyss,
I get dragged right back in.
Every time I come home,
Your world falls apart.

I try so hard to make it better,
But in the end…
It doesn’t even matter.
This house barely feels like home.

Every time,
You’re on the edge of dying!
Pain is what I love,
Pain is what I live for.

It is never my fault,
Yet I will always be the foe.
I’ve tried so hard,
But it never seems enough.

And in the end,
It doesn’t even matter.

Don’t act like you know who I am.
Don’t act like you raised me.
You know nothing of me.

Don’t act like you’re my parent,
Nor my brother or sister.
Because in the end, it doesn’t even matter.

All the Abyss I’ve seen in my lifetime,
I keep being dragged into it again and again.

All the chains that keep breaking,
Chain me up again and again.

Oh, pain is what I love,
Pain is what I live for.

It is never my fault.
I will never say I’ve had enough.

Keep on pushing me down.
Keep on chaining me up.
I will always keep breaking free,
And climbing out of the Abyss.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

What a cold-blooded life.
I will not break!
Hear me loud and clear!

No matter how much death I see,
Or all the blood I witness,
Save your breath!

I will not break,
I will not fail again!
I will keep rising higher!
No matter how much war I witness—
Bodies, bullets, ashes,
Suffering, agony—bring it all!

Oh, what a cold-blooded life.
Who else will you take?
Before my eyes,
Haven’t I seen enough death?
Haven’t I seen enough blood?
Keep bringing it on.

Just know—
I will never bow!
I will never break.

This world you’ve created has forgotten
The meaning of karma, consumed by the trauma
Your cold-blooded life has caused.

Just know—
There is nothing you can throw at me
That will pin me down.
Even as I fall again and again,
The walls I build may break,
But I will rise stronger.

Save your breath,
Cold-blooded life!
Because—
I will never bow!
I will never break!
I will keep rising higher!

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Circles around and round,
Every time,
You take a step back—
Away from all the chaos.

Oh, you know,
That you’re always there in the center of hell!
Trying to calm the fire down,
But the fire keeps on flaming.

You keep on crawling,
Trying to crawl out of the depth of hell,
But the demons keep on dragging you down.

Every time you reach the surface,
You know it’s gonna happen again.
Don’t give in.
You made it through this far!
You can keep on fighting,
Ain’t no hell gonna hold you down!
It’s just the way life circles around!

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Stop chaining me down,
I will stand up once again!
I will break every chain!

Stop chaining me down,
You can't hold me down
Not for long, you can't!
No, you can't save me
Not from the persistence of life!

Laugh it off all you want!
I will make it turn into tears.
Oh, just don’t you dare tell me!
I didn't tell you or warn you!
Cause I have said it a million times.

I am just waiting for the right time
So stop chaining me down!
I will break all the chains!

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Cease treating me as a little girl,
I'm weary of the false guidance,
Attempting to navigate my own life.

Yesterday, urging me to wed,
Today, instructing me not to cross the street.

Oh, cease treating me as a little girl!
Stop asserting control as if you own me!
I'm weary of the false guidance.

Addressing me as baby girl,
Only to command bearing children next.
Halt the deceptive directives.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Life is a game
Either you accept "game over"
Or simply keep on playing.
Whatever your choice might be,
It all depends on you.

If you choose "game over,"
You have chosen to sit down
And let life win the game.
Where you're gonna be left behind,
As life keeps on moving ahead.

If you choose to keep playing,
Then you have chosen to stand up,
And fight life so you can win!
And say goodbye to "game over."

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Kick the fire all up,
All week long, working it up.
We’re makin' that money grow.
Building blocks, streets in tow.
Lights flashing all through the night,
Guiding us with their radiant light.

Kick the fire all up,
Weekend comes around,
Wins start popping up, banishing fears.
Like fireworks painting the sky,
In these moments, spirits fly high.

Kick the fire all up,
Paying those bills around,
Friends come around,
Laughter's sound abound.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

People ask, 'Where are you from?'
He says, 'I'm just a traveler,
I ain't got a place to call home.'
They said, 'Well, ain't you a lucky man.'
He laughed so hard,

As the wind breeze made the flowers dance.
He smelled the flowers around their guardian,
And he said, 'Nothing smells better than home.
You all are blessed after a long day,
You turn around and there it is,
A place you can relax in,
A place you filled with memories.
That you can relive anytime you want,
That, my friends, will last a lifetime.'

The people looked at each other with no words to speak.
The man continued, saying,
'I had a home, but the war horsemen had taken that away.
All he left is ashes and rocks covered
What I used to call home.

Now I'm just a traveler.'
A lady from the crowd of people says,
'Well, handsome man, this is your luckiest day.'
The man smiled, asking why?
She smiled, saying, 'I got an empty room in my house.'
The man replied, 'Only for tonight.
By sunrise, I will hit the road.'

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

When the sun's on
And the sky goes off,

When the heat turns on
And the cold runs off.

The world is left on fire,
Fire is all around.
Can't take the heat,
So you run and hide.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Is life a lie?
Born in lies,
Lies became life,
Believed I had a family,
A family to be loved.
Yet family was all a lie.

I had a mother, who was killed?
Yet now I hear, she’s alive?

A woman I loved as a sister I never had,
I avoided her, to never hurt her.
Now that woman hates me, hurt deep inside.
I promised to protect her, yet I failed.
She might love me a little, but it's never going to be the same.

This got me thinking of my four fathers.
I had a father, yet I have another father.
A father, who made me a killer.
Another father who sold me,
Taught me, sacrifices must be in vain.

Yet another father approached my life.
That father taught me, life is a lie,
He said, “Life is a lie, rather you become part of the lie
Or lie to get out of that lie and enter another,
There is no escape from fate.”

Yet another father I never knew I had,
A man I aimed to murder.
Planned for years and so on,
A way to eliminate him from existence.
Now, I learned that man is my father.
A man, I respected always spoke of him highly.

Yet, here I stand questioning every word,
All those men combined, oddly, even the man I respected.
Questions, I have no answers for;
Is life truly a lie?
What’s the truth? What’s not?

Why call the evil man, a good man?
Why speak so highly? When he’s nothing like that.
The man I despise the most is the man I desired to meet?

If life is a lie, then life, mind if I ask,
What is the lie? And what’s not?
Did the man I respected lie?
Or is this a mere act?
Pardon my questions, Life, but nothing makes sense now.
Hard to comprehend: the man I desired to meet,
Is the same man I despise the most.
I need answers, yet where to find them.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

I can feel the sky closing up on me…
To taking my pain away…
I wanna stay up flying!
But I gotta snap back to reality...
I gotta be strong enough,
To stand on my feet.
To walk on the ground.

As I walk on the ground,
Looking at the sky Sayin-
I don’t need you!
To take anything away…
I can walk and take all the pain with me
Each and every day.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

It's a waste of your time,
To just walk away...
From everything in your life.
You've got to be strong!
You're going to have to stand!
Stop wasting time.

'Cause every time you waste,
It takes part of your life...
You're going to have to stand...
To save your life.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

Who's a hero?
Peer into the mirror,
Have you never endorsed pain?
For those you hold dear—
Perhaps family or friends.

Look within your gaze,
Haven't crossed the threshold?
For someone, you cherish.

In this vast world we share,
With riches and poverty,
Strength and fragility,
All of us in the same world,
United yet diverse,
But we are all Heroes.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

I was born free!
Freedom is all I have ever known.
But you came along,

Now here I am, chained up.
So cut those chains from me!
Because I was born free!

You can’t contain me!
So cut those chains from me.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart

I’m sick of all
Who betray me?

My own so-called friends,
Those who turn me into a joke,
Those who oppress me,
Put me down.

Now I rise,
They will all fall into oblivion.

— by Helen Najar, Lionheart