cw: please read with caution
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I see you.

Climbing against the current,
you grow like ivy
and you've earned it.
Don't let them freak you.

They want a feast to go with their show,
ignore them all continue to grow
up to that light.
Your first shimmer of soul
might not survive a night,
it could wither at the first exposure.
Don't let that feeling own you.

Ignore the doubters outside and within,
begin to trust that thrust for life.
Your soul will shine,
let it be bright!
You'll know you've made it
when you rise up against the stream
to take shape independently.
And the praise will come
and it'll come loud
and you'll inspire others
and feel proud
to watch their success
and know their growth
and you'll breathe hope.

And yet I see you

I see you thrashed by every laugh
and curl up and hide your light.
You could stand tall, you could be bold,
but every setback becomes a goal
of nothing or it all. And when you stumble,
you think it's a fall.
And the thing that gave you joy
causes pain and so you destroy
that very thing
that you came to live for
and what was inside
dies.

When you take it all
you don't leave anything
for the fall.
I wished you'd look past night,
to see the brilliant starlight.