The Woman You Grow Up to Be

I remember that young girl

Begging someone just to see her

Looking for a little mercy

In every passing mirror

Every silence felt like judgment

Every word cut twice as deep

I kept giving pieces of me

Just to be the one they’d keep

You thought the world had written

Everything you’d ever be

But the truth was waiting

Far beyond what you could see

Hold on little heart

I remember you

I wish I could reach your side

Wipe the tears

You learned to hide

And say the words you need

You were never meant to carry

All the hurt they left behind

You were just a child

Trying to survive

And every scar you thought was weakness

Was strength you couldn’t see

Love,

The woman you grow up to be

There was a box of letters

Hidden underneath your bed

Every line you kept like gospel

Every cruel word that was said

You believed the quiet voices

Saying you were hard to love

That the cracks inside your heart meant

You were never strong enough

You thought the night would last forever

That the pain would never leave

But the strength you didn’t know you had

Was already underneath

Hold on little heart

I remember you

I wish I could reach your side

Wipe the tears

You learned to hide

And say the words you need

You were never meant to carry

All the hurt they left behind

You were just a child

Trying to survive

And every scar you thought was weakness

Was strength you couldn’t see

Love,

The woman you grow up to be

If I could reach across the years

I’d hold your shaking hands

And tell you life gets bigger

More than you can understand

You spent so long believing

You were something you should hide

But the girl who thought she was the problem

Was just a child who needed light

Hold on little heart

I remember you

Standing there afraid to breathe

Every tear

And every scar

Is shaping who you’ll be

You were never meant to carry

All the hurt they left behind

You were just a child

Trying to survive

And every scar you thought was weakness

Was strength you couldn’t see

You spent years just trying

To be the one they’d keep

But hold on little heart

Love,

The woman you grow up to be