grief is the receipt you keep
when love doesn’t get returned
it’s proof you paid full price
for a lesson you never asked to learn
today my mom would have turned another year older
and yet the weight on my chest keeps getting colder
second birthday since you left this earth
now I’m counting candles like I’m measuring worth
people keep saying “it gets easier with time”
but that’s the biggest lie they ever tried to rhyme
it doesn’t get easier, i just learn how to breathe
with a hole in my chest that i can’t make leave
i’ll never get over it, i just grow around it
build a life where the missing piece is part of it
some days the grief screams loud, breaking through the walls
other days it whispers soft when nobody calls
and some days it just sits there, quiet in the room
a shadow at the table, a second voice in the tomb
reminding me that love doesn’t vanish when you do
it just changes addresses…now it lives in me, not through
honoring the dead isn’t just lighting candles slow
it’s living like they’re watching every step you go
it’s saying their name when the silence gets too thick
it’s telling their stories ’til the memories stick
it’s chasing down the dreams they saw in you before
you ever saw yourself, that’s what keeps the score
she believed in me when I was too broken to see
that belief didn’t die, it just transferred the deed
she was the first one in my corner throwing punches for my name
first one to see the fighter when I only saw the shame
the faith she had didn’t get buried in the ground
it lives in every risk I take, every fear I drown
so on her birthday, I don’t just sit here and grieve
i stand up and carry her, that’s how I believe
if you’re walking through this valley, let me tell you what’s real
you’re not weak for the breaking, you’re strong for the feel
strong for learning how to hold what refuses to fade
strong for making room for the love that stayed
this one’s for you, Mom
i’m still running
still breathing
still fighting the fight
still trying to live in a way
that would make you proud at night
smile on my face
knowing you’re watching
how I turned your belief into proof
and that’s making you proud