to know I shine.
I've grown in shadows
and bloomed in silence.
My worth doesn't rise
with applause
or dim with doubt.
It was planted deep,
watered by faith,
and rooted in grace.
I don't need to prove
what I already carry -
kindness in my hands,
courage in my quiet,
and strength that doesn't need to shout.
Some rise loud.
Some rise fast.
But I rise steady -
unshaken, unseen by many,
but known by the right ones.
And if I never make it to the stage,
know this;
I made a difference in the small,
loved deeply in the quiet,
and stayed soft in a world
that begged me to harden.
And to me-
that is enough.
