I Carry It Forward

I learned the sound of slamming doors

Before I learned to tie my shoes

Read the air and watched the floor

You grow up fast when you have to choose

Laughter hiding in between

Jokes to make the silence small

I became the in-between

The steady voice inside it all

Kids shouldn’t know how to hold a storm

But I did

I carry it forward, I don’t carry it down

I walked through fire but I’m still around

The past may live in the back of my mind

But it won’t decide the rest of my life

I’m not the fear I learned to feel

I’m every scar that chose to heal

And I’ll stand strong whatever I face

The pain was a chapter, not my place

Got older but the reflex stayed

Reading moods before a word

Always strong, always brave

Even when my voice felt unheard

Now small eyes are watching me

Learning safety from my tone

So I’m building what I need

The kind of home I never owned

I rewrite slowly

What my younger heart believed

I carry it forward, I don’t carry it down

I walked through fire but I’m still around

The past may live in the back of my mind

But it won’t decide the rest of my life

I’m not the fear I learned to feel

I’m every scar that chose to heal

And I’ll stand strong whatever I face

The pain was a chapter, not my place

I forgive the child who had to be wise

Too early, too quiet, too tired inside

She’s still in me but now she can rest

I’ll be the safety she never possessed

I carry it forward, I carry the light

Turning the dark into something bright

I can’t erase where I’ve been before

But I decide what it means anymore

No past can tell me who I’ll become

My story’s still being written, not done

And whatever tomorrow may bring

I didn’t just survive — I grew wings