Twenty-Six Summers

Age five, scraped knees on the pavement

Mama yelling my name from the basement

Cartoons loud, cheap juice on the table

Dreams big, budget small, borrowed cable

Twelve years old, hand-me-down sneakers

Lunch in my bag, trust in my teachers

They said “be anything” over old posters

I just saw bills on my parents’ shoulders

Seventeen, first job, fryer and grease

Smelling like smoke, chasing a piece

Minimum wage for a maximum stress

Clock out late, clothes reek, no rest

Eighteen candles, tiny apartment

Secondhand couch, secondhand carpet

Thought I was grown, keys in my hand

Didn’t know life had a different plan

This is life ‘til twenty-six

Missed calls, late shifts, little wins

Bad love, good friends, learning tricks

Fall down, stand up, try again

From the playground to the pressure

Every scar turned into lessons

Ain’t a straight line, just these twists

That’s my life ‘til twenty-six (yeah, that’s it)

Nineteen, first car, rust on the doors

Engine light bright, hope on the floor

Gas on E, still drive to the party

Act so rich with a broke heartbeat

Twenty, thought “I’ll be rich by Christmas”

Still broke, but the hunger got vicious

Working two shifts, eyes red, mind racing

Writing my plans while the boss kept pacing

Twenty-two, lost folks to distance

Some to the bottle, some to the system

Answered calls that made my chest freeze

Black suit, front row, weak knees

Twenty-four, love turned into arguing

Same four walls, both of us harming

Raised our voices, dropped our pride

We both knew we were done inside

This is life ‘til twenty-six

Missed calls, late shifts, little wins

Bad love, good friends, learning tricks

Fall down, stand up, try again

From the playground to the pressure

Every scar turned into lessons

Ain’t a straight line, just these twists

That’s my life ‘til twenty-six

Now I’m here, twenty-six, still climbing (still climbing)

Halfway lost, but I keep on trying

Got some peace, got some pain I’m hiding

Got a past I’m done denying

I’m not a kid, I’m not that grown

Still pay late fees on my phone

But I own my name, my slips, my hits

Every year stitched in these fingerprints

This is life ‘til twenty-six

Missed calls, late shifts, little wins

Bad love, good friends, learning tricks

Fall down, stand up, try again

From the playground to the pressure

Every scar turned into lessons

If you feel this, then we exist

In the same light at twenty-six (yeah, that’s it)