Beneath the Ashes

Beneath the Ashes

They never saw the battles

That raged behind my eyes,

The storms I kept concealed

Beneath familiar skies.

I learned to wear a smile

While everything was breaking,

Holding up a shattered heart

The world kept overlooking.

Each disappointment settled

Like ash upon my skin,

Layer after layer forming

Around the hurt within.

Promises turned brittle,

Trust dissolved like rain,

Leaving empty hands to carry

More than their share of pain.

Still I walked through darkness,

Even when the road grew cold,

Gathering strength in silence,

Learning what courage could hold.

The fire never vanished,

Though buried deep from sight,

It waited through the ruins,

Protecting its small light.

Now the ashes drift behind me,

Carried by the passing air,

The scars remain as proof

Of everything endured there.

I am not what broke apart,

Nor every wound life gave,

I am the strength that survived

What others thought would cave.

#Marie381UkWriter