I forget the faces time has swept from sight, Their names like fading shadows at my door, Yet not the heavy days that taught me fight, Nor truths cut deep by pain I bore before. The smiles dissolve, the tender voices fade, But echoes of their trials still remain, For every fragile scar my heart has made Has turned its hurt into a stronger gain. It is not who arrived or turned to leave, But what their storms awakened deep in me, The strength I found, the truths I learned to grieve, The scars that shaped my quiet bravery. Faces may blur as years continue their lure, But growth outlives all memory, strong and pure.