Shadow work is a real thing, not a phrase I made up for a song. The idea is that the parts of yourself you bury do not actually go anywhere. They wait. And the only way past them is straight through.
So this one is not about fixing anything. It is about stopping the running.
The second verse is the whole point. I met the darker side of me, and instead of fighting it I sat it down. It was not a villain. It was just hurting, and it had been carrying that on its own for a long time.
That is the turn. You do not beat it, you take it back in. Light and dark, both mine.
It is the most direct thing I have written. No metaphor to hide behind. Just the work.