Part Three - “The Wonderful Story of…”

At one, I was starting life,

At two, I lost a piece I can’t reclaim.

Before I even learned my name,

At seven, the world turned cold and cruel.

I learned my body could be a tool,

At ten, I learned what hunger meant.

Empty plates, my spirit spent,

At eleven, pills and smoke filled our home.

I became the parent, my childhood gone.

At thirteen, I vanished on paper and screen,

No school, no help — two lost years between.

At fourteen, I sent her pills down the drain,

Tired of the chaos, tired of the pain.

At fifteen, my father raised a gun to his head,

Then turned it on me — I should’ve been dead.

At sixteen, high school began while life fell apart,

My mother was behind bars, and it tore my heart.

All these years, my heart was bruised,

Every hand I held, I was used.

Broken before I even knew,

Pain became the only truth.

At eighteen, I moved back into my mom’s life of high,

Strangers knocking and coming in all hours of the night.

The yelling muffled, shook down the house,

I learned to hide, feeling so alone.

At nineteen, someone took the name I own,

Left me in debt and struggling alone.

At twenty-one, I finally held my diploma in hand,

Starting life three years behind, just trying to stand.

At twenty-three, I loved her true and wide,

Her storms became my storms, I had nowhere to hide.

Her pain seeped in, and mine was born anew,

I gave my all, but she broke me too.

At twenty-four, I stepped into the call,

Wearing the badge, I faced it all.

At twenty-five, the badge led me to dread,

Blood and bodies, the worst of mankind I tread.

I ran toward screams, the dying, the fire,

Nightmares etched in my chest, memories that never tire.

At twenty-six, I was living the best years of my life,

Not knowing which day would be my last.

Every color burned clear and bright,

But the past still haunted me at night.

Life was fleeting, shadows cast,

I was living, but my soul moved fast.

At twenty-eight, I had to throw it all away,

The colors drained, the world turned gray.

Every taste turned bitter, every joy to ash,

Life hit the brakes — a silent, burning crash.

At twenty-nine, I let my heart open wide,

Someone’s love reached the places I’d locked inside.

At thirty, I saw the mask of love fade,

All that I held was just a charade.

I carry every scar, every shattered day,

Memories like ghosts that won’t go away.

Pain has been my guide, my curse, my song,

It taught me where I’ve been, and where I don’t belong.

The love I sought, the warmth I craved,

Fell through my fingers, left me unbraved.

Yet even in the darkest night,

A faint spark flickers — a fragile light.

All these years, my heart was bruised,

Every hand I held, I was used.

Broken before I even knew,

Pain became the only truth.

Through the cracks, a shadowed light,

I’m still here, surviving the night.

I carry every scar, every shattered day,

Memories like ghosts that won’t go away.

Pain has been my guide, my curse, my song,

It taught me where I’ve been, and where I don’t belong.

The love I sought, the warmth I craved,

Fell through my fingers, left me unbraved.

Yet even in the darkest night,

A faint spark flickers — a fragile light.

All these years, my heart was bruised,

Every hand I held, I was used.

Broken before I even knew,

Pain became the only truth.

Through the cracks, a shadowed light,

I’m still here, surviving the night.