Title: Glass Ceilings & Broken Mirrors
[Intro – Spoken Word Style]
Yo…
This one ain’t about the ones on top.
It’s about the ones below the line,
The ones tryna raise kids while their dreams flatline.
The youth watchin’…
Absorbin’ the pressure of a world that forgot ’em.
This for them. This for us. This for now.
⸻
[Verse 1 – The Reality Check]
Born in the belly of the block, no silver spoons,
Where the only time they fly is from them stray balloons.
Mama workin’ double shifts, daddy locked away,
School full of metal detectors, but no books today.
They say dream big—but dreams don’t pay rent,
So shorties hustle candy while they pockets stay bent.
Eviction letters hang like ghosts on the fridge,
And hope’s a word that’s too far to bridge.
Kids raisin’ kids ’cause the system forgot ‘em,
Therapists too pricey, so trauma just rots in.
Social feeds glamorize what they’ll never touch,
Then they wonder why our youth don’t smile as much.
⸻
[Hook – Sung with Soul]
Glass ceilings above us, broken mirrors behind,
Tryna find ourselves in a world that’s blind.
We carry their burdens, wear pain like a suit,
No wonder the future looks confused in our youth.
Tryna rise up from the ashes they made,
But the fire still burns from the choices they gave.
We just tryna breathe through the lies and the truth,
But society’s storm got its hands on the youth…
⸻
[Verse 2 – The Reflection of the Struggle]
Little man with a hoodie on, walkin’ alone,
Told to pull his pants up but can’t call home.
Sister got straight A’s, still judged by her skin,
And they wonder why rebellion got roots within.
Counselors be tryna guess his pain from a chart,
But can’t hear the symphony that’s playin’ in his heart.
Dreams of ballin’ or rappin’—’cause options are few,
Ain’t nobody told ’em they could be doctors too.
Gunshots lull ‘em to sleep, sirens serenade,
Pops was a man ’til that minimum wage betrayed.
Auntie on meds just to cope with the silence,
And they preach peace in a place full of violence.
⸻
[Bridge – Spoken Interlude Over Subtle Piano]
You ever look in a kid’s eyes and see they already tired?
Not from runnin’ or playin’—but from life?
That’s what society normal feels like.
When pressure replaces joy.
When fear replaces youth.
And they wonder why we fight…
⸻
[Verse 3 – The Resistance & The Hope]
But we rise like breath in the morning mist,
Even with a cracked lens, we still resist.
Our pain paints poems, our scars make art,
We survive in shadows with rebellious hearts.
Teach ‘em to read, to dream, to lead,
Plant roots in the soil where they told us we’d bleed.
Every young queen wearin’ trauma as a crown,
Deserve to walk tall, not be told to sit down.
So we talk back now, build paths of our own,
Turn pain into purpose, make this struggle our home.
’Cause maybe just maybe if we shout loud enough,
The world will hear the truth that the youth had it tough.
⸻
[Final Hook – Repeat with Gospel Choir Backing]
Glass ceilings above us, broken mirrors behind,
Tryna find ours
