Lifted From Failure

The red ink on the paper felt so heavy and cold

The story of my future,

seemingly already told I walked up to the front door,

couldn't look them in the eye

Underneath the silence of a heavy autumn sky

For weeks I left the books on the shelf to gather dust

Listening to the echoes of a broken family trust But a spark

inside the quiet started turning to a flame I am more than

just a number, more than just a name

One day at a time,

I will rebuild the wall

One step in the dark,

standing after the fall

I don't need to be the smartest in the room

Just stronger than yesterday's gloom (One day at a time!)

One chapter became a book,

laid out upon the floor

One practice test became a hundred,

then a hundred more One mistake became a lesson that I carved

into my mind Leaving all the doubt and the whispers far behind

One day at a time,

I will rebuild the wall

One step in the dark,

standing after the fall

I don't need to be the smartest in the room Just stronger

than yesterday's gloom (One day at a time!)

Months turned to a year,

the seasons rearranged My reflection in the mirror was the only thing

that changed Now the morning light is pouring through the testing hallway

door I don't know the final answer,

but I'm not afraid no more

One day at a time,

I have rebuilt the wall!

One step in the dark,

standing proud and tall!

I don't need to be the smartest in the room I have

conquered yesterday's gloom! (Yeah!

I am standing tall!)

I fold the old paper,

place it in my drawer

Not as a symbol of defeat anymore

But as proof that the boy who fell down in the rain

Was the very same one with the strength to start again