Checked voltage, leg to leg Readings clean, still runs like hell Swapped the contactor just in case Didn’t change a goddamn thing They swear it’s new, I know it’s not Tag says ‘04, Sharpie crossed Every fix just buys some time Till the next call hits my line It’s still not the motor It’s never the motor Everyone wants it to be Something you can point at Something you can blame Something that ain’t slow decay Greased the bearings, set the belt Aligned it tighter than myself Noise moved left, vibration stayed Like it’s learned to play charades Blueprint says it should work fine Reality says try again Someone changed it years ago And never wrote a thing down then It’s still not the motor It’s never the motor That’s just what folks like to hear They want a clean ending A swapped-out part Not a system rotting year by year Thermostat’s been stabbed with nails Setpoint drift from war stories Every shortcut’s still in here Layered up like archaeology You don’t fix one thing anymore You negotiate with ghosts Every problem’s got a past That won’t admit it’s almost toast You can hear when steel gives up Before it ever fails It ain’t loud It ain’t dramatic Just tired of being asked Management wants uptime Accounting wants cheap Operators want miracles And I just want it to sleep Nobody owns the whole damn thing But everyone owns a piece So I tighten what I can reach And leave notes no one reads It’s still not the motor It’s never the motor That’s just the myth they keep Machines don’t die heroic They wear out quiet Like the men who keep ‘em running each week One day it won’t restart They’ll say “it came outta nowhere” I’ll nod, pack up my tools Like I wasn’t warning ‘em for years
