Rust and Gold

Rust and gold, that's the story I hold

Broken-down dreams still shining like soul

Time takes the shine, but it never gets old

I rise from the dust, I'm rust and gold

I came from the scrap yard, metal and scars

Life wasn't polished, I battled with odds

Grinding through winters, surviving the storms

Pressure makes diamonds, but rust makes form

I'm worn at the edges, but built for the fight

Weathered by struggle, still catching the light

They tried to discard me, said I wouldn't last

But even cracked steel got a future, not a past

Golden ambitions with rust in my veins

Turned all my losses to fuel for the flames

The shine isn't perfect, but real never fades

I'm proof that the struggle can polish the pain

A crown ain't clean if it never got bent

Glory means nothing without what it spent

Every scar's currency, history told

I'm weathered, I'm tested - I'm rust and gold

This ain't about sparkle, it's deeper than shine

It's the story of grit in the passage of time

You can bury the metal, you can cover the glow

But the core keeps burning where the real ones grow