Rise Above

I can feel the bitter sting
of another day spent wasted,
dwelling on what has gone,
tormented by tragedies lingering too long.

I look out into the shadows left behind me,
stare into the darkness,
see the demons yet to find me,
and cry out to the sky
questioning why it all went so wrong.

My eyes are trapped within the dancing shadows
instead of focusing on the flame.
The doubts linger on,
fears I can’t seem to kill.

Late at night I reach out in the darkness
finding no one there.
I feel the sadness fill every cell,
swear no one cares.
I wrap my arms around the softness of a pillow,
swearing I’m destined to remain alone.

My fingers trace the scars
left from my distant youth
when no one truly knew me,
when I was adept at hiding the truth.

There’s no light without shadows,
no day without a night.
Love is just an empty word
when taken without a fight.
No peace without conflict,
no future without a past.
No life comes without death,
no first without a last.

I can feel my grave calling
with every moment alive.
I forgot to find comfort in just surviving,
as my body breaks down and days slip away.

We all dwell within the darkest shadows,
walk through life’s wreckage.
It’s not the end of life to truly fear —
it’s wasting the little time given
while you’re here.

We all have bruises,
we all have scars,
someday we all will die.
That doesn’t give us cause to never try.

Everything in my past
strengthened me for now.
To rise above this moment
and carry on somehow.

Life isn’t a mistress
to coddle or keep you safe.
It’s the cruelest bitch you’ll meet,
twisting every fate.
Every challenge you rise above
is strength you store,
to call upon when life decides
to test you more.
Nothing is given freely,
every breath earned,
bought with every hardship
and every lesson learned.