Here I am, once again
Sitting in the same place, same routine, same faces
I’ve mistaken a change in pace to be progress, a step out of this mess
I’m discouraged at the realization, no longer through the rearview mirror;
I see it all through the front glass

Can’t they see me struggle?
Too weak to grow up
Not enough of a background to create a strong enough foundation to rise above

I’m told I’m the one to blame
That’s hard to swallow
When my dreams lead me to wonder and
Believe in my soul how I may never have had to know this life
If those who struggled before me hadn’t been so weak
If they tried harder, hungered more, struggled through and grew
Then maybe I would look out the rearview mirror
And know my direction, already on my way, never forgetting, constantly moving

I’m growing for those who come after
I’ll fight for those who come after
I refuse to stop fighting because there are those who come after
So they never have to start in the dark

Would it be selfish to sit down in my old age
To tell those who have never seen death,
Who are still innocent in their bones that I did it for them
I struggled and fought and never gave in
Only for them

Those before me never thought of me
But they also never thought of you
Because when they do,
Well, that’s how the real fairy tales begin