**Another year around the sun,** **for me, a journey’s far from fun.** **The candles flicker, the faces cheer,** **Yet inside, drowning in fear.** **Three hundred sixty-five days, a feat,** **A race I ran with weary feet.** **They call it triumph, a battle won,** **I wonder softly, a look of stun** **An angel descended, soft and bright,** **Her presence casting a gentle light.** **I whispered low, my heart in pain,** **_“Only friends and family keep me chained.”_** **She smiled, her eyes a knowing sea,** **_“Perhaps this place is not your destiny._** **_Take my hand, we’ll wander far,_** **_Beyond the sorrow, past every scar.”_** **But I held on tight to the fleeting day,** **_“What of the love that begs me to stay?”_** **She paused, her wings a silver glow,** **_“Love is a tether, but peace you must know.”_** **_“There’s strength,”_**** she whispered, ****_“in holding tight,_** **_But more in seeking your own true light._** **_It isn’t death that makes pain cease,_** **_It’s finding a way to make your peace.”_** **And so I stood, between two doors,** **One of shadows, one of shores.** **The night grew long, the air grew still,** **A choice was mine, of strength or will.** **I’ll walk this road one step, one breath,** **A fragile dance with life and death.** **For birthdays mark not just the years,** **But every triumph, every tear.** **So light the candles, let them burn,** **A flame for each lesson I have learned.** **For even when my heart feels weak,** **There’s hope in every word I speak.**