I know I’ve failed — in more ways than one, But must you remind me each time I’m undone? I know I stumble, I lose, I fall, But please don’t make the wounds recall. At the end, I’m human — fragile, flawed, Not a heart of stone, but one that’s scarred. I’m tired of pretending I don’t care, Of hiding pain beneath vacant air. Pretending I’m fine, pretending I’m whole, When silence echoes inside my soul. Each day I break — piece after piece, Under their words that never cease. Breaking beneath their piercing eyes, Their whispers haunt, their judgments rise. And this weary heart still softly prays, For just one dawn of gentler days. A day without reminders, without the sting, Without the ache their voices bring. Maybe that peace will come at last, When pain is gone, when storms have passed. Because I know — I’m the failure they see, Yet deep within, a flame burns in me. One day I’ll rise, from tears set free, To be the me I’m meant to be.