[Verse 1]
She was seven when her mother walked away
No goodbye, no reason she could understand
At twelve her father found the bottle's embrace
Left her raising herself with trembling hands
No one there to catch her when she'd fall
No one there to paint tomorrow's dreams
When both your anchors drift beyond recall
Nothing's quite the way it ever seems
[Chorus]
Look in the mirror, see the reflection
Patterns that pass from heart to heart
When the future loses its direction
Before your own story gets to start
Multiplicative, not just additive pain
When both foundations wash away like rain
Look in the reflection
[Verse 2]
By twenty-one she'd learned to stand alone
Built walls so high that love couldn't break through
Independence was the only truth she'd known
But closeness felt like loss she'd lived before, it's true
She met your father with her armor on
Strong and capable, fierce in her own right
But underneath, tomorrow felt long gone
When no one taught her futures could burn bright
[Chorus]
Look in the mirror, see the reflection
Patterns that pass from heart to heart
When the future loses its direction
Before your own story gets to start
Multiplicative, not just additive pain
When both foundations wash away like rain
Look in the reflection
[Bridge]
Trust gets broken in the space between
Where child and parent should have been
Regulation never learned its song
Narrative fractured all along
The future's just a foreign land
When no one's there to hold your hand
[Verse 3]
So when she loved, she braced for the goodbye
When she dreamed, the endings felt untrue
The child who lost both parents learns to try
But battles ghosts in everything they do
This is the inheritance she carried
The reflection staring back at you
Understanding why her heart stayed wary
Helps you see your own reflection too
[Chorus]
Look in the mirror, see the reflection
Patterns that pass from heart to heart
When the future loses its direction
Before your own story gets to start
Multiplicative, not just additive pain
When both foundations wash away like rain
Look in the reflection
[Outro]
In the mirror, find compassion's light
For the child she was, for who you are
Breaking cycles starts with clearer sight
Looking deeper than the surface scars
Look in the reflection
See the reflection