Maybe One Day You’ll Understand

Hey, younger me…

I know you’re tired of fighting.

I know that smile hides a thousand scars.

But maybe one day…

You’ll understand.

Maybe one day you’ll understand,

Why you carried the world in your little hands.

Why we packed our bags, kept moving around,

Searching for somewhere to call our hometown.

Why a father could leave and never look back,

While you blamed yourself for the love that you lacked.

Momma kept fighting, taught you to survive,

While you hid all the hurt you carried inside.

You learned to smile when you wanted to cry,

Told everyone you’re good while dying inside.

Just a little boy with impossible dreams,

Learning life’s much harder than it seems.

Maybe one day you’ll understand,

Why God gave you storms when you needed a hand.

Why the roads got dark and the nights got cold,

Why you had to grow up before you got old.

Maybe one day you’ll finally see,

The man you’ve become was the boy you dreamed you’d be.

Every scar, every tear, every broken plan,

Built the heart of a stronger man.

Traded backroads for boots and a gun,

Swore I’d keep marching till the mission was done.

Wore that uniform with pride on my sleeve,

Lost some brothers I still struggle to grieve.

They see my rank but don’t know the cost,

Or all the pieces of myself I’ve lost.

Then my knee gave out, and my dreams felt thin,

Scared my Army story might be nearing its end.

Staring at the ceiling at a quarter past three,

Asking, “Who am I if I can’t be me?”

But I’m more than a soldier, more than my pain,

I’m still standing in the pouring rain.

Maybe one day you’ll understand,

Why life kept slipping right through your hands.

Why you gave your all and still felt alone,

Why sometimes a house never felt like home.

Maybe one day you’ll finally know,

Even wounded hearts find a way to grow.

I wasn’t falling apart, I was learning to stand,

Maybe one day you’ll understand.

Alexander sees a hero when he looks at me,

Even when I’m not the man I wanna be.

Nox lies beside me through the darkest nights,

Like he’s telling me everything will be alright.

And that little kid who dreamed of more?

He’s still the reason I’m fighting for.

From Job Corps to the Army, to LDRides,

I’m keeping every broken dream alive.

Maybe one day I’ll understand,

Why I survived what could’ve broken this man.

Why I still have nightmares but still chase dreams,

Why nothing in life was quite what it seemed.

And maybe one day I’ll look in the glass,

And finally forgive the boy from my past.

I’ll hold out my hand, let the old me stand,

And whisper, “We made it… I understand.”

Hey, younger me…

I’m sorry you had to hurt just to grow.

I’m sorry nobody told you it’s okay to cry.

But if you could see us now…

I think you’d be proud.

And maybe one day…

I’ll be proud of me too.