We Will Survive

He gave me the courage to walk away,
  From a home where shadows lay.
Pain and silence, walls so thin,
  A house of hurt I'd lived within.

With him, I saw a different light,
  A future reaching, shining bright.
A chance to run, to break, to mend,
  To start anew, and to find an end.

I packed my child and we left behind,
 The ghosts that clung to the heart and mind.
A state away to a safer place.
  A home that promised love and grace.

For a while the world seemed more kind,
  But soon the past was close behind.
His mask fell off and the truth was there,
 His love was just smoke that filled the air. 

An empty bottle, a bitter tongue,
  A rage that burned, a song unsung.
No father, no partner, no steady hand,
  Just broken dreams and shifting sand.

Dependent, trapped, and afraid to flee.
  A caged bird longing to be free.
Survival stole my will to grow,
  My dreams were paused and my hope sank low.

The drinking, yelling and striking pain,
  A pattern played the same refrain.
Not again, I swore inside myself,
  Not this path, not this ride, I have more wealth.

So once again, with a lifted chin,
  My daughter's hand pressed into my skin.
We turned away and left the past behind,
  A life unlived, a fate unkind. 

No chains remain, no cage, and no ties.
  Beneath the stars, the future lies.
And as we walk, the night so wide,
  I whisper softly; we will survive.