*Struggle and Despair*

Struggle is waking up

with weight on your chest

and getting up anyway.

It’s the cracked road you walk

because it’s the only one that goes forward.

Despair is the night that feels longer

than all the days before it.

It’s whispering _what’s the point_

into an empty room

and hearing your own echo answer back.

Struggle carries rocks in its pockets

and calls them lessons.

Despair sits on the curb

and counts how many times it fell.

But struggle knows something despair forgets:

storms don’t stay.

Hands that shake can still build.

Voices that break can still pray.

Despair says _this is all there is_.

Struggle answers, _not yet_.

One more step.

One more breath.

One more try before the sun comes up.

And sometimes that’s enough.

Because in the middle of struggle,

despair thins out.

And what’s left is you —

still here.