You Don’t Know What It Took

Yeah…

You see the smile, but you don’t see the scars,

You see me standing, don’t know how hard.

I learned to say “I’m good” when I’m barely okay,

Some battles don’t show, but they hurt every day.

Woke up tired with a storm in my chest,

Another long day, no time to rest.

Put a smile on my face, let ‘em think I’m alright,

While I’m fighting with my thoughts in the middle of the night.

I’ve been down so low, had to crawl to my feet,

Had to face my own demons with nobody to see.

Lost pieces of myself just to make it this far,

Now I’m learning that the broken can still shine like stars.

They see the progress, never saw the pain,

Never felt the pressure running through my veins.

They don’t know the nights I almost gave in,

Or how many times I had to start again.

I kept showing up when my heart said quit,

Had a world on my shoulders, still carried that shit.

If you judge my story by the smile on my face,

You don’t know the battles that I fought to stay.

You don’t know what it took to get here,

All the silent breakdowns, all the swallowed tears.

You see me laughing, think I’m living just fine,

But there’s a whole different war going on inside.

I wore my pain like a coat in the rain,

Kept walking forward while I drowned in the pain.

What you see outside ain’t the truth underneath,

You don’t know what it took just to still be me.

I’ve had days when the future looked miles away,

When I fought through the darkness just to face the day.

Trying to be stronger, trying to be enough,

When life kept testing if I was made of tough.

I got people I love that depend on my strength,

So I push through the hurt, go the extra length.

But even strong hearts get tired and break,

Even good men have more than they can take.

I’m not every mistake, I’m not where I’ve been,

I’m the man who kept fighting when the odds wouldn’t bend.

Every scar tells a story that I don’t have to share,

Every step forward means I made it through there.

If I ever tell you I’m tired, let me breathe,

I don’t need you to fix me, just believe what you see.

Not the mask that I wear, not the strength I display,

But the person underneath trying to find his way.

You don’t know what it took to get here,

All the silent breakdowns, all the swallowed tears.

You see me laughing, think I’m living just fine,

But there’s a whole different war going on inside.

I bent, I broke, but I still believe,

There’s a stronger version waiting inside of me.

What you see outside ain’t the truth underneath,

You don’t know what it took just to still be me.

So don’t judge my smile like you know my life,

You never saw the battles I survived.

I’m still here, still fighting, still learning to breathe…

You don’t know what it took

Just to still be me.