My only hope

I carry a stone in my weary hands,  

Like the weight of my soul pulling me low.  

My heart shrinks slowly in shadowed lands —  

To let it all end feels easy to go.

But faces linger in my blurred sight —  

My mother, her tears like a silent plea,  

Her arms outstretched to pull me from night,  

Hoping one day I’ll find peace and be free.

My friends with their smiles, their love, and their care,  

Whisper words that keep me from harm.  

They don’t see the weight I silently bear,  

But their belief in me keeps me warm.

I sink in the darkness, but they pull me through,  

Their voices the echoes I hear every night.  

Not for myself, but for them, I choose  

To stay, though all I see is the fight.

So here I remain, in a world full of strife,  

With tears in my eyes and screams in my head.  

I can’t betray them, they’re my light in life,  

Guiding me back from where I felt dead.