Living to Survive

Walking waterless streets, shadows over my shoes

Every week’s a battle, breaking all my dues

Feels like I’m fighting a system that’s built to refuse

Living just to breathe, fighting to choose

Empty pockets, heavy hearted, living on a whim

Dreams so distant, slipping slowly into the dim

Bills pile higher, hope feels thin

Every day’s a war I can’t win

They tell us to stand tall, but how when you’re down?

It’s a show of resilience, but inside you drown

The world’s against us, yeah, it’s a constant frown

Trying to stay afloat when you’re going down

Living paycheck to paycheck, caught in the grind

Trying to find a way out but it’s hard to find

The system’s stacked, it’s designed to keep us behind

Can’t get ahead, only falling in line

They say to work hard, to break free and soar

But the doors are shut, and the key’s no more

Getting set back, working to settle the score

Still we keep fighting, craving something more

So we shout in silence, our voices unheard

Living for today, in hope’s faint word

We’re against the tide, but we won’t be deterred

Living to survive, out of necessity’s bird