Missed the Years

You praise their light, so fierce, so bright,  

But never glimpsed their endless night.  

You see the crown, the gold, the gain,  

Yet missed the years of silent pain.  

The hands you clap, the names you cheer,  

Once trembled, shackled, bound by fear.  

They walked through storms, they fought through doubt,  

When no one watched, when none spoke out.  

The battles waged behind closed doors,  

The shattered dreams upon cold floors.  

The nights they bled, the days they cried,  

The silent wars they kept inside.  

Every triumph, every name,  

Rose from ashes, walked through flame.  

The ones you praise, the ones who shine,  

Once crawled through darkness—just like mine.