**The Path We Walk**     
 
A cry, the first sound in the cold,    
Born from the warmth of a world untold.    
The air is harsh, the light too bright,    
No longer sheltered from the night.    
A baby's plea, a fragile start,    
Begging for love, a mother's heart.      
 
A child now, with eyes so wide,    
Fears hiding deep where joys reside.    
A broken vase, a shattered toy,    
Tears flow from both girl and boy.    
The world so big, yet full of doubt,    
The play has rules, they figure out.     
  
A teen who stands where shadows fall,    
In halls of judgment, standing tall.    
Worries cling, like whispers cruel,    
A hierarchy shaped in school.    
The popular fret their image clear,    
While the quiet ones dissolve in fear.     
  
Now grown, the world looks much the same,    
A race to run, a path to claim.    
Degrees in hand, yet doubt still thrives,    
Competing with a sea of lives.    
You work, you strive, the days go by,    
Chasing dreams beneath the sky.   
    
A job, a house, a family near,    
But burdens grow as years appear.    
You trade your youth for bills and pay,    
The weekends just a brief delay.    
And still, your parents fade from view,    
As you tend their needs, their care renew.      
 
At last, you rest, the race is run,    
But endless time is not as fun.    
The world spins on, but you feel still,    
Your body weak, no strength of will.    
You sit, you watch, the clock ticks on,    
The days of youth now long since gone.      
 
But in the quiet, you look behind,    
At every step, the ties that bind.    
The path we walk, from birth to end,    
With fear, with love, and hearts to mend.    
And though we stumble, though we fall,    
We leave a mark, however small.