ASHLEY:
Hey Mac, how’s life?
MAC:
Dunno, it’s alright.
I’ve been going through some things,
memories haunting all my dreams,
and didn’t even sleep last night.
ASHLEY:
I’m sorry.
MAC:
It’s cool.
I just need to get a new school,
really take some time and think through
all the bad times I lived,
all the hate I had to give.
ASHLEY:
Just know, man, that hate is just a tool.
MAC:
I know. It’s fine,
just never got the chance for some me time.
I hate life, I hate truth,
swinging for the fences like Babe Ruth.
ASHLEY:
Mac, don’t lie, man, you’re broken up.
MAC:
Nah, Mac, I’m cool,
just too cold to open up.
I got it all under control.
I fit the shape, I made the mold,
I fit the role.
ASHLEY:
Mac, you’re tired, man, you gotta rest.
MAC:
Nah man, I gotta keep trying to do my best.
Got a family to support and mouths to feed.
No one cares if the one cooking
is the only one to bleed.
ASHLEY:
Come on, Mac, just sit a while.
Crack a joke, let me make you smile.
MAC:
Get off me, man, I don’t want to sit.
I got work to do and bread to get.
ASHLEY:
Come on, Mac, you need a break.
MAC:
No, that’s the one thing I can’t take.
No quit, no stop, just keep the grind,
every verse, every line,
reading them like nursery rhymes.
ASHLEY:
Mac, you’re gonna burn out, man,
just take a second.
MAC:
Man, forget it.
If I crash and I burn,
I get up and still take my turn.
I got birds to fix,
pain to hide.
ASHLEY:
Mac, it’s okay to take a break.
MAC:
No, it’s not.
Got my hand on the burner, it’s hot,
but I got—to keep going
and formulate the plot.
I cannot afford to wind up alone and shot—
down by rejection one single time.
If I stop,
I’m locked up like a robber to a cop.
I’ll drop the heavy things at my feet
and take a seat—
SIKE!
I know I’m fat,
but I got things on my plate.
My love ’n my hate.
I’m irate.
If I quit now, I’ll never be ahead.
Lack of bread.
My pockets flat.
Lemme get my hat.
I gotta go get to work,
get it done before I’m dead.
ASHLEY:
Mac, why you trying too much?
MAC:
Because, man,
I’m no pussy who needs a crutch.
My family needs me, man,
I signed a deal—
six years for some cash,
yeah, I’ll keep it real,
just to give another meal.
I’m not broken, man,
I’m on top of it.
Let’s cut the shit.
I gotta keep pushin’
and keep rhymin’ the next cipher,
just to make sure
they are paying the Pied Piper.
ASHLEY:
Alright, Mac.
I’ll leave you to it.
I’m here, though,
to help you through it.
It’s me.
We are a team.
MAC:
I know, MAC
.
Till the sun dies…
it’s you and me.
Grayscale253
