They carved at calm with careful hands, Until the silence turned to flame Then wore the mask of wounded hearts, And whispered that I was to blame. They measured virtue by my fall, Ignoring every scar they made For truth is often dressed in wounds, While lies seek shelter in the shade. But storms reveal more than they break They show what patience chose to bear. A soul can thunder once too long When no one sees the weight it wears. So judge not only how I rose, Or by the anger you could see Look first at every stone they threw Before condemning what found me. For even rivers, calm and clear, Can rage when mountains block their way The loudest echoes are not born They're shaped by what the world will say. And if my heart learned how to burn, It wasn't born to love the fight It simply carried too much dark Before it ever found the light.

We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin. André Berthiaume

And some people become private Because openness taught them difficult lessons.

Count not your life in treasures kept, Nor in the fortunes won and stored. For every jewel will lose its light, And every kingdom fades with time's reward. Count it in the hands you've gently held, In every tear you've helped to dry. In every soul you've taught to hope, And every dream you've helped to fly. For love is all that lingers here, When every earthly thing is gone. It lives within the hearts we've touched, And carries us quietly on and on. So leave behind more smiles than sorrow, More kindness than the world expects of you. And when your story meets the stars, May love be all that's left—and all that's true.

Cheating Is a Choice, Not a Mistake.

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO FALL APART TO FIND PIECES OF YOURSELF YOU DIDN'T KNOW WERE THERE.