Restructured
The fiber of my being
Reordered
The placement of my priorities
Reconsidered
The core of truths validity
Realigned
My moral compass and sense of duty
Rediscovered
The spark of my life and ingenuity
Recommited
                          Life

Myriad of distasteful smells
Grease and mold and rot
I hold my breath and walk
Along the lonely hot blacktop
I can't stop, I can't stop
I'm already running late

Past the towering gate of cedar
Into a human sea
Weaving through groups
Of preteen girls
Dressed like they're twenty three
Under the twisting orange rails
And past the elder train
I can't talk, I can't talk
I'm already running late

Through the courtyard of the wolf
Beyond the bubbling fount
Near the infinite tidal wave
Pass between the pillars
And now I'm at the gate
Step inside the hovel
This is where my work begins
I can't walk, I can't walk
My legs are spent for a bit

Then I man my battle station
I'm ready for the rush
Six hours later still on my feet
They start to feel like mush
My arms are heavy my eyelids sag
And my back begins to ache
My voice is sore my mind is numb
But I don't get a break
I can't stop, I can't stop
I'm working for my pay

Another dollar, another day
You know I'm working for my pay

Life is a lifelong
Balancing act
Time that's wasted
Never comes back
But hear my quandary
It's really quite queer
What happens when my job
Conflicts with my career?
What happens when my schooling
Disrupts my education?
When federal government policies
Keep me from graduation?
What happens when my GPA
Keeps me out of universities?
What happens when what I need to do
Conflicts with my responsibilities?

Life has hit me
Hard
It hits
Fast
It hits
Quietly

And you can't hit back
You can't trade blows
It's like a brawl with a phantom
A duel with a ghost

So you just take the punches
And learn how to roll with them
That's just how it goes
When you're punching at smoke

Twelve days.
That's how long it will be
Until the last thirteen years of my life
Mean almost nothing
Twelve days.
Twelve.
Twelve days.
That's how long it will be
Until the relationships I spent
So much time building
Fade away
Twelve.
Twelve days.
That's how much time I have left
Until I'm forced into a world where
No one knows my name, my face, or
What I've done
The image of myself
That I spent my time building
An unknown.
The work
Wasted
My self identity
Purged
Without my permission
Forced to rebuild myself
From the ground up
Who will I be?
Who will I be?
Who will I be?

No delusions of grandeur
No misconceived notions
But there's a thing that beats in my chest
Like the winds against the ocean

I don't crave glory, fortune or fame
I don't even care if you remember my name

I want to be there
On a brightly lit stage
Me and my guitar
Making art
Turn the page

Not in it for the women
(I'm happily spoken for)
I don't do drugs
(They're stupid, and make you poor)
I don't want to get rich
(Money corrupts)
I just love rock
(Stand back. Watch me erupt)

It's all about the music
And what it does for you
I don't write for me
That's for other musicians to do
So if you ever hear me playing
And it stirs something in your heart
I'm doing something right
I'm just doing my part

When I said wouldn't change for you
I didn't mean I'd stay the same for you
I'm changing 'cause I want to
I'm changing 'cause I've got to

The me I've been is no longer feasible
I realize now most people are seasonal

But it's not about other people
My priorities are wack
My motives are turning evil
And I need to turn them back