Another Year

The phone lights up, same names, same lines

I fake a smile, say “I’m doing fine”

Blowing smoke through the cracks in my lungs,

The day’s just begun, but it already stung.

Every laugh feels like a rerun scene,

Different day, same worn-out dream.

Another year spins off the reel,

I don’t even know what’s real.

This day’s a curse I can’t outgrow.

I run, I run, I run— but,

The past moves slow, the past moves slow.

Candles burn like warning signs,

Memory drips between the lines,

Maybe I just need to know

Why the past moves slow.

Tried to drown it out with midnight songs

But the clock hit twelve and it all felt wrong

The walls still hum that tune I used to play

When I swore I’d make things change someday

But the record skips, I never move

Tracing circles, no excuse

Birthday cards stack up like lies

Another try that flatlines

Every smile feels like a lie,

Guess I’m still the same, just faded through.

Another year spins off the reel,

Nothing left that I can feel.

This day’s a curse I can’t outgrow

The past moves slow, the past moves slow

Candles burn like warning signs

Memory drips between the lines

And looking on, I think I know

The year ahead feels hopeless, cold

Maybe I’m just burned too long ,

Still standing still while the world moves on.

Every heartbeat sounds the same

As if the future forgets my name.