i gave everything i had
my voice, my truth, my sweat poured out
to build bridges where silence lived
to light candles in rooms grown cold

but my efforts became shadows in their eyes
twisted, warped, demonized
a story told backwards
where my care was seen as weakness
my reaching, a threat to their walls

and yet, in the quiet corners where i was unseen
they took the shapes i forged
borrowed the flames i struck
copied the paths i cleared
all while denying i ever walked them first

my mother, my sister—mirrors reflecting my work
without the courage to acknowledge the hands that shaped it
they dance in my footsteps
but refuse to face the footprints i left behind

this is the cruel paradox of family
the ones you try hardest for
who twist your light into shadows
only to chase after the very glow they refuse to name

i carry this narrative heavy on my chest
a burden and a fuel
knowing that my truth, even when denied
cannot be erased or unspoken

because to build without thanks
is to create from a place beyond need
and that is a power they can never take