WHO WE BECOME - by Jumzee Mercurial

We feared the knife, then learned to forge our own, We fled the cold, then made our hearts of stone. The wounds we carried taught our hands to fight, Until we feared what we might become in time. We mastered smiles while sorrow took its seat, And hid our broken selves from those we'd met. For laughter can conceal a thousand silent cries, And pain wears its finest mask behind bright eyes. We swallowed truth to keep the peace alive, And buried parts of us so love could survive. But silence feeds the wounds we leave untold, And hearts grow weary carrying pain alone. We gave until our hands had nothing left, And called it love to give our final breath. We fed the hearts that never fed our own, Then wondered why we felt so much alone. We feared goodbye, so stayed where love had died, And called it loyalty while breaking deep inside. Some chains are forged by fear, not iron hands, And some prisons are built from the need to stand. We built our walls to keep the hurt away, Then wondered why our joy could never stay. We barred the doors against another wound, And left our hearts in an empty room. We wore our pride to keep our shame concealed, And called ourselves unbroken, never healed. The world applauded strength it couldn't see, While we fought wars no one would fight for free. We learned to doubt the hands that once were kind, And carried old betrayals into every new life. Now love can come with honest hands and truth, Yet we make the innocent pay for another's proof. We buried dreams beneath another's needs, And starved our souls to water the seeds. We spent our years becoming what they planned, Then looked at our lives and could not understand. We hid our tears and called our silent grace, Until the mask grew roots and took our place. A lie repeated long enough feels true, Until the face we wear conceals the real you. We feared the fall, so we never learned to fly, And called our cage protection passing by. A bird that never leaves the safety of its bars, May live a lifetime never knowing stars. We gave our light to guide us another way, And watched our little flame burn low each day. We became the sun for those afraid of night, Then cursed the dark when we had lost our light. We bent beneath the burdens we were never meant to bear, And mistook exhaustion for the proof that we still cared. But even strongest branches break beneath a weight too long, For endurance is not wisdom when the burden itself is wrong. We fought our way through darkness, every wound and scar, Yet travelled so far from ourselves, we forgot who we are. We conquered every battle that the world brought to our door, But lost the child within us we were fighting for. We broke the chains that bound us, yet still feared being free, For chains can leave the body while their shadows never flee. Survival may preserve us, but it cannot make us whole; We must not become our wounds and call the damaged soul.

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