Rents due

(soft piano)

Yeah…

Another month… same math that never adds up…

Alarm clock ringing but the fridge stay quiet

Bills on the table like they ready to riot

Paycheck gone ‘fore I even see the digits

Dreams got evicted, boxed up with the limits

Mama said “work hard, you’ll be alright”

I been working double shifts every night

City lights shining but they don’t shine free

Everybody eats—but it’s never like me

I did everything they said I should do

So why am I still barely making it through?

Rent’s due again, knocking at my door

Counting every penny, still I’m short once more

Praying to a ceiling that don’t answer back

Trying to build a life with a deck that’s stacked

Rent’s due again, hear that heavy sound

Every dream I got getting watered down

Running in circles, can’t break through

Living paycheck to paycheck—what else can I do?

Two jobs, no sleep, still behind pace

Smile on my face but stress I can’t erase

Bus ride home just staring at the floor

Thinking ‘bout a life I can’t afford

Applications out, no one calls back

Future looking thin like a worn-out track

They say “budget better,” like I never tried

Can’t budget hope when the hope done died

If I fall behind, do I disappear?

Do I lose my name just surviving here?

Rent’s due again… (echoes rising)

And I’m still here trying…