I learned young how to swallow the pain,
Keep my mouth shut, hide the tears in the rain.
Every loud sound still shakes something inside,
But I got pretty damn good at saying I’m fine.
I learned how to smile when I wanted to scream,
How to bury the truth underneath every dream.
I carried my past like a weight on my back,
And somehow kept walking when everything cracked.
I gave you my heart, I gave you my soul,
Thought loving somebody could finally make me whole.
I gave you the pieces I barely could hold,
Then watched them fall through my hands in the cold.
And I don’t hate you,
God knows I tried.
I just hate that I gave you
The parts of me I kept alive.
I’m still standing,
Though I don’t know why.
Got a thousand little scars
And a thousand reasons why.
I keep falling,
I keep crawling back,
Every time I think I’m done,
Something pulls me from the black.
I lost more than a person,
I lost the life I saw.
Lost the future I imagined,
Lost the man I thought I was.
I lost the little things,
The reasons to believe,
And spent so many nights wondering
What was left of me.
So I write these words at midnight,
Turn the wreckage into sound.
If I can’t undo the damage,
Maybe I can lay it down.
I’ve been angry, I’ve been broken,
I’ve been more than I could take.
I’ve mistaken being numb
For knowing I’m okay.
I’ve chased the bottom,
I’ve stared into the dark,
I’ve tried to find some meaning
In the pieces of my heart.
And maybe I’m not finished,
Maybe I’m not who I was,
Maybe getting through tomorrow
Is enough for where I’m at.
I’m still standing,
Though I’m tired as hell.
I don’t need to be unbroken
To know I’m doing well.
I keep breathing,
Even when it hurts.
Maybe surviving all these years
Wasn’t all that I was worth.
Because somewhere underneath it,
There’s still a voice I recognize.
Not the boy who learned to suffer,
But the man who stayed alive.
And maybe someday I’ll wake up
And this won’t hurt so bad.
Maybe I’ll stop measuring tomorrow
By everything I had.
Maybe I’ll find somebody
Who doesn’t make me disappear,
Maybe I’ll learn to love myself
Without needing someone near.
But I don’t need that answer
Tonight.
Tonight I’ll let the silence come.
I’ll let the room get quiet.
I’ll let the memories pass
Without chasing them.
I’ll take one more breath.
Then another.
And maybe that’s enough.
The world’s still turning.
The night is getting colder.
My hands are still shaking,
But I’m still holding on.
I don’t know where I’m going.
I don’t know what comes next.
But tomorrow’s still waiting…
And I’ll meet it when it gets here.
For tonight…
I’m still here.
Still breathing…
Still standing…
Still standing…
Still…
here.