Ashes of complacency

Fall on my destruction

As I look through the smoke

To see that I'm still standing

In the midst of my undoing

Reality grips me

And pulls me from my denial

Forcing me to face myself

In the light of my disgrace

Specters of my past materialize

So close but so faint

As my destiny unfolds

Voices I've repressed

Return like echoes in the corners of my mind

And hindsight reveals a future I did not expect

And would not have believed

But hindsight won't undo these scars

And grieving won't reverse the past

Still, I see a ray of hope

Redemption in spite of myself

The smoke subsides

I open my eyes

The path is clear again