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
