To my dearest, who give without end,

Your love, your care, a hand to lend.

You’ve built me up, through storm and strife,

The quiet heroes of my life.

*

Yet here I stand, with empty hands,

Dreams adrift, like shifting sands.

I try, I fall, I rise again,

But all I bring is fleeting gain.

*

Your words say, “It’s okay, my dear,

Failure’s part of what we hold near.”

But in your eyes, a shadow stays,

A silent worry that never sways.

*

Oh, how it pains my heart to see,

The weight you bear because of me.

I’m sorry for the burden I’ve been,

For dreams deferred, for hopes unseen.

*

I wish to give, to ease your load,

To walk with you on a brighter road.

But all I do is take, and take,

A daughter lost in her own ache.

*

Forgive me, please, for all my flaws,

For battles fought with so few claws.

For being the one who stumbles still,

While you hold steady, strong of will.

*

One day, I vow, the tides will turn,

For all your love, I’ll strive, I’ll yearn.

To give you more than tears or pain,

To make you proud, again and again.

*

But until then, with heart contrite,

I thank you both, with all my might.

For loving me, though I’m not enough,

For standing firm when life gets rough.

*

I’m sorry, truly, for being this way,

A daughter who struggles, day by day.

Yet in my heart, a flame still burns,

For you, dear parents, the world I’ll earn.