I Am

Verse 1

I am the man that says “I’m fine”

Then falls apart when left alone at night

I am the smile in public places

And the war behind my eyes

I am exhaustion dressed as effort

Pressure packed inside my chest

A man that spent his whole damn life

Trying to give everybody his best

I am the nights without sleeping

The guilt attached to every breath

The fear that those I love would heal

If I disappeared instead

I am the silence after yelling

The shame that follows every storm

The kind of pain that changes people

Till they don’t feel like themselves anymore

Pre-Chorus

But somehow

I’m still here

Still breathing through the weight of years

Chorus

I am the wreckage and rebuilding

The broken bones still slowly healing

I am the weight I couldn’t carry

And the reason I still fight

I am the man that lost his way

But keeps searching through the dark for change

Held together barely lately

Brick by fragile brick at night

I am not just my failures

Not just every bridge I burned

I am every time I almost left

But stayed and chose to return

Verse 2

I am the anger I inherited

The child underneath the rage

Every scar I tried to bury

Still bleeds out across the page

I am the husband scared to death

That love will fade from tired eyes

The father terrified his son

Will grow up carrying his mind

I am the pressure to provide

The fear of never being enough

The need to feel some kind of worth

When life becomes unbearably rough

And I am tired of pretending

Strong means never breaking down

Because some nights strength is simply

Surviving thoughts that scream out loud

Pre-Chorus

Maybe healing

Ain’t beautiful

Maybe survival leaves visible wounds

Chorus

I am the wreckage and rebuilding

The shattered glass still softly gleaming

I am the scars life carved inside me

And the proof I made it through

I am the man that keeps returning

Even after all the hurting

Still trying to become somebody

My family can hold onto

I am not just my darkness

Not just the shame inside my chest

I am the war between hopelessness

And refusing to give less

Bridge

I used to think that broken people

Could never really heal again

But maybe all this pain just means

I fought too long without a friend

Maybe the fact I’m still here breathing

Even when I wanted rest

Means somewhere underneath the damage

There’s still a little life left

Final Chorus

I am imperfect

I am wounded

I am tired beyond belief

But I am still here standing

Even while drowning underneath

And if my life gets built slowly

One fragile piece at a time

Then I’ll spend the rest of mine

Learning how to survive

Because I am not my ending

Not the worst parts of my past

I am every single moment

I kept fighting when I collapsed

And maybe that’s enough

Maybe that’s what makes me strong

Not that I never broke apart

But that I’m still holding on.