Adult Conversation Deficit Syndrome (ATAWorks Remix)

[Verse 1] Half-screen, half-scream, tab stack like a lattice Backlit campus in a laptop attic Chat box chatter, all caps in the margins Avatar army and I’m answering jargon Quiz clock tick, click flick in the silence Blue light eyelids, side-eyeing assignments Mute mic, mouthing, “is this my village?” Degree drip-fed through a bandwidth image Prof on a slideshow, small in a square Frozen mid-sentence, buffering stare Streaming credentials, credentialed stream I’m paying for presence from a pixel dream Lecture on “peer groups,” peers off-camera I’m here with a cursor, cursed by stamina Raise hand, raised bar, raised rent due Raised kids in the next room, same venue [Chorus] All day students, all night children Where my grown-ups at? I’m in the building I’m in the kitchen, car seat kingdom Adult conversation deficit syndrome She grading papers, I’m grading dishes Talk to me later, grant me wishes When she coming home, I keep checking my phone I keep checking my tone, I been talking in poems [Verse 2] Evening shift hit, lil sneakers on the hallway Finger paint fingerprints, fridge door gallery Cartoon marathons, snack time salary I’m the chauffeur-chef, showtime calorie Car seat symphony, spill in the cup holder One sock missing, one kid colder Red light ritual, “how long y’all need?” Hands in the backseat, fighting over beads Piano practice, parking lot prophets Parents pass by like anonymous comets I’m nodding at faces, stray small graces But nobody lingers, they leave like traces Back home skillet, stir-fry circus Steam on my glasses, screen still working Browser tab bouncing, brain off center Kids want seconds, I want mentors [Chorus] All day students, all night children Where my grown-ups at? I’m in the building I’m in the kitchen, car seat kingdom Adult conversation deficit syndrome She grading papers, I’m grading dishes Talk to me later, grant me wishes When she coming home, I keep checking my phone I keep checking my tone, I been talking in poems [Bridge] Fridge full of cans with the cracked-top lightning Fizzy little cyclone, heart rate spiking Sip quick, tongue twist, lemongrass lightning Brain doing backflips, thoughts misaligning Auto-play lectures, lullaby cadence Alphabet magnets, floorboard patience I’m rhyming with a three-year-old, time slows sideways All my punchlines stuck in the driveway When was the last time somebody said my name Not “Dad,” not “sir,” just straight, no frame Adult brain starving for a counterpoint sentence Give me one deep question, I’ll pay in attention [Chorus] All day students, all night children Where my grown-ups at? I’m in the building I’m in the kitchen, car seat kingdom Adult conversation deficit syndrome She grading papers, I’m grading dishes Talk to me later, grant me wishes When she coming home, I keep checking my phone I keep checking my tone, I been talking in poems