Devotion in the Key of Regret Dusty Rhodes ReDux (Final Cut)

[Start] [Verse 1] I clock in beneath fluorescent moons, Cathedrals of buzzing light and tired machines, My hands smell like labor and yesterday’s smoke, My pockets hold lint and unspoken prayers. I drift through the hours like a rumor of a man, Half-dissolved in bong water and cheap devotion, Counting minutes the way monks count sins, Each one shaped like your name. [Pre-Chorus] You are not here, the night makes sure of it, Time stretches thin and mean, Every task I touch remembers you. [Chorus] You are out there fixing the world again, Stitching broken days with mercy and care, While I stand under humming lights pretending I’m not counting the seconds until you’re here. [Verse 2] I know what I look like when the shift ends, A bearded apology in borrowed clothes, Eyes red with smoke and unslept hours, A man mirrors tolerate, not admire. Beer bottles wait like bad decisions, Lined up for absolution I never request, I offer no defense, only honesty, Poorly groomed and entirely sincere. [Pre-Chorus] And still, you choose to love me, Which feels like an accounting error Heaven refuses to correct. [Chorus] You are out there fixing the world again, Listening where others rush past pain, And I am proud in theory, Lonely in practice, Missing you without dignity. [Bridge] When I get home and you are not there, I become embarrassingly small, A lost dog with a remote control, Curled into the couch watching disasters unfold. I write songs no one asked for, Smoke, drink, repeat the ritual, Knowing you are helping strangers breathe easier While I miss you selfishly. [Verse 3] I know the world needs people like you, Your patience, your brilliance, your refusal to turn away, I know this and still resent the math of it, Because love does not distribute resources fairly. It wants what it wants, And what it wants is you Close enough to reach. [Final Chorus] Let the world borrow you if it must, Let it heal in your wake, Just know every night pulls me apart Until you come home again. [Outro] This is petty. This is honest. At three in the morning with a half-written song, I am a mess of devotion waiting by the door, Ready to stand straighter The moment you walk in. [End]