“Night Shift Promises”

I buried myself inside a vision

Built something big just to stay numb

Ran from the grief like it was fire

Told myself I was getting things done

Three rounds hoping, one round breaking

Doctors’ rooms we tried to survive

I told myself the dream was over

Told myself some lives don’t arrive

Work was louder than the silence

Until the silence found me still

I was running from the pain

When the miracle came

And all I felt was fear

Not joy, not peace, not relief

Just realizing I wasn’t ready here

If I believed this chance was real

I would’ve never built that flame

Because hope changes everything

And nothing ever feels the same

The company fell the way I did

Quietly, all at once

Then I took a job they said was fortune

But it came with a heavier cost

I faced a kind of judgment

That money couldn’t disguise

And I learned how fragile success is

When it’s built without safety inside

I didn’t need another title

I needed a way to stand

I wasn’t scared of failing big

I was scared of failing him

Of looking into my son’s eyes

Without security to give

So I stepped back into the long road

Did what pride said not to do

Chose late nights over ego

Chose protection over truth

I stayed up nights at SNHU

Screens glowing, house asleep

Then paternity leave came quietly

And I took the night shift, finally

I watched you bring him into the world

Strong beyond anything I knew

You created a whole human being

And I learned what strength really means through you

When Gabriel cried for the first time

Something in me locked in place

I didn’t need to be Superman

I just needed to be safe

So I studied, worked, stayed present

Built the ground beneath his feet

I don’t chase dreams without armor now

I build legacies I can keep

I ran from grief until love stopped me

Taught me what a man must do

Every night shift, every promise

Is me choosing life for you