Voicemails I Never Sent

(cassette tape click)

(vinyl hiss + tape noise)

(muted analog synth pad)

(distant city ambience)

⸻

Six a.m., sky still quiet

Alarm rings like a warning sign

Mirror shows a tired version

Of someone I don’t recognize

Same streets, same dull breathing

Days stacked heavy in my chest

Feels like time keeps leaving voicemails

I’m too scared to press connect

⸻

(lo-fi drums enter softly)

(warm tape saturation on vocals)

I keep saying I’ll get through it

But the weeks don’t hear me out

Life keeps moving like it means it

While I’m frozen in the sound

⸻

(dreamy bass swell)

(drums widen, soft and slow)

Clock hands bleed into the night

I lose months just trying to cope

Still showing up, still punching in

Living on a thread of hope

I’m tired, but I’m standing

Even when my breath feels thin

I don’t quit, I just keep going

With the weight I’m living in

⸻

(muffled cassette playback)

(phone speaker filter)

Hey… uh… I don’t know why I’m calling.

I just wanted to say I miss how things were.

I keep thinking I’ll reach out tomorrow.

Guess tomorrow keeps moving too fast.

⸻

Four p.m., sun already fading

Phone stays quiet in my hand

Same friends living down the block

Feels like miles between where we stand

We don’t talk like we used to

Silence learned our names too well

Guess people grow without each other

Or maybe I just stayed still

⸻

(synth pad darkens)

(light vocal delay trails)

Was it me or was it time

That pulled us out of frame

Now I replay every memory

Trying not to feel the blame

⸻

(drums slightly heavier, emotional lift)

Clock hands bleed into the night

Every day feels borrowed now

Still carrying grief and pressure

Like I made a silent vow

I don’t fold, I don’t vanish

Even when the floor feels thin

I just breathe and keep on moving

Through the shape my life is in

⸻

(tape warble)

(soft background hiss)

It’s me again…

I swear I meant to call sooner.

Life just… keeps happening.

If you hear this, I hope you’re okay.

I hope you didn’t think I forgot you.

⸻

(drums drop out)

(low ambient swell)

(heartbeat-like sub pulse)

Grief sleeps heavy on my shoulders

Stress sits quiet in my spine

I keep counting all the moments

That I swear I’ll make in time

If I slow down, I feel everything

If I run, I lose my breath

So I walk this line between it all

Trying not to disappear yet

⸻

(drums return soft but full)

(washed harmony stack)

Clock keeps spinning, I stay human

Even when I’m barely here

Still becoming through the silence

Still surviving through the fear

If we changed, I hope we’re growing

If we faded, I still care

I’m still here, still holding on

Even when life’s not fair

⸻

(cassette click)

(voice distant, almost whisper)

I don’t know if I’ll ever send this.

But if you’re listening…

I hope you know I tried.

I’m still trying.

(cassette stops)