Renee

Raised in the shadows of Washington pines

Moved to Missouri when the world changed its lines

I spent my years caring for minds fading fast

Nurturing strangers and guarding their past

But September brought sickness, my steady life broke

Lost my job and my home in a cruel twist of smoke

Now he's locked in a cell, and I'm out here alone

First time since a child I've been truly on my own

If fifty-five-year-old me could sit down with you

I’d tell eighteen-year-old me a hard truth or two

I’d say you deserve better than what you let in

You don't have to settle, you don't have to bend

And if nobody else is standing right by your side

I’ll be your shelter, I’ll be your guide

Through the shadows, the fear, and the push and the shove

Renee, you are worthy, valued, and loved

I was a single mother, just making a way

For Destiny and Emily, my light in the gray

And now sweet Sophia, my granddaughter's smile

Makes every hard step feel completely worthwhile

I've always been shy, but I'll speak out my mind

Faithful, forgiving, and trying to be kind

When I feel so helpless and the fear starts to creep

I think of my girls, and the promises I keep

If fifty-five-year-old me could sit down with you

I’d tell eighteen-year-old me a hard truth or two

I’d say you deserve better than what you let in

You don't have to settle, you don't have to bend

And if nobody else is standing right by your side

I’ll be your shelter, I’ll be your guide

Through the shadows, the fear, and the push and the shove

Renee, you are worthy, valued, and loved

It’s scary out here in the quiet and cold

A story of struggle I never thought would be told

But the patience I gave to the minds slipping away

Is the grace that I need to give myself today

I won't give up now, I still have my fight

Future me is holding my hand in the night

Yes, fifty-five-year-old me is sitting with you

Telling eighteen-year-old me we're gonna make it through

You deserve so much better than what you let in

You don't have to settle, you don't have to bend

And if nobody else is standing right by your side

I’ll be your shelter, I’ll be your guide

Look in the mirror, look up above

You are worthy, you are valued, you are loved