He was twelve years old with a grown man pain Momma cried quiet dad just yelled his name Cold nights couch floors learned to stay alert Learned real quick how the world can hurt School said trouble but they never asked why He just stared back with them tired eyes First punch thrown just to feel some control First time he learned how to harden his soul You ever wonder what it’s like To wake up already tired of the fight Judge a man by the scars you see But you never lived his nights You talk like life was fair to you Like love never lied or left you bruised Before you point and say he’s wrong Ask yourself what it’s like to be him He fell in love with a girl who smiled like peace Thought maybe finally the hurt would ease Promised forever under streetlight vows But forever don’t mean much to people now She left him bleeding with a phone that rang Heard her laugh in another man’s name He drank it down tried to drown the shame Swore he’d never feel that pain again You ever wonder what it’s like To give your heart just to lose your life To trust someone with everything Then watch it burn in flames You say move on like it’s easy to do Like memories don’t live inside you Before you tell him he’s too weak Ask yourself what it’s like to be him He found God on a cold church bench Hands shaking asking for forgiveness Read them pages looking for a sign That broken men still get a second time Tried to be better tried to be calm Still felt ghosts every time he slept alone Love came back wearing a different face Same lies different name same mistakes You ever wonder what it’s like To keep forgiving just to survive To love so hard it costs your mind But you still don’t walk away You call him stupid call him blind But you never loved with his kind of fire Before you say he should’ve known Ask yourself what it’s like to be him Now he’s older with kids that need him strong Smiles for them when everything feels wrong Carries weight they’ll never see Tries to break chains that were handed to me You ever wonder what it’s like To hold it together one more night To be the man they all depend on While you’re falling inside So next time you judge that man in the street Or that quiet guy who don’t say much to speak Remember pain don’t look the same And you don’t know what it’s like

“Before You Judge”