Shadows of the Past - by kyuji

I grew up small, a face in the crowd

Just a quiet voice, never too loud

But then the sky turned heavy and grey

And everything I knew started slipping away

Whispers turned to wounds they couldn’t see

I wore long sleeves so they’d leave me be

Laughed at in halls, alone in the rain

Trying to hide the cuts and the shame

Shadows of the past, still follow me fast

Scars on my soul, from a world so cruel and vast

They tried to break me, tear me apart

But I still carry this shattered heart

Twice I felt death breathe down my neck

Hands that hurt, love twisted and wrecked

Forced into silence, forced into pain

While family just watched, again and again

Tried to scream, but no one heard

Every plea, just another unheard word

Longing for love in a war I couldn’t win

Chained by the hatred under my skin

Shadows of the past, still follow me fast

Scars on my soul, from a world so cruel and vast

They tried to break me, tear me apart

But I still carry this shattered heart

They called it love, but it was chains

They gave me hugs that only left stains

And every night I prayed for peace

But peace was something I’d never meet

And still I breathe, though it hurts to try

Still I dream, though I don’t know why

A child inside, bruised and unheard

Still waiting for a kinder world

Shadows of the past, still follow me fast

But I’m still here, though I was never asked

To fight this war, to bear these scars

Yet I rise each day with a bleeding heart

I grew up small, tried to belong

But this is my truth, my silent song…