What right do I have to light their way,  
When shadows cling to me each day?  
How can I offer joy or cheer,  
When inside, darkness is all I fear?  

I stand and smile, a fragile mask,  
Hiding the weight of each unspoken task.  
What worth are my words, my soft embrace,  
When my heart drifts in a hollow space?  

Yet still, I try, despite the storm,  
To bring warmth, to help transform—  
For in my giving, I too might heal,  
And find in others the strength I feel.  

So even broken, I’ll still give,  
For sometimes it’s through others we learn to live.