It doesn’t knock It waits I had a roof that held the rain A name folks mostly said right Coffee warm in a chipped mug Friends who stayed too late Worked enough to sleep at night Enough light to see my hands But there was something in the quiet Saying don’t stay where you stand There’s a serpent in the counting Every time I add one more I’m still standing where I started But I can’t see the floor I don’t know when enough is enough I just feel it slide with time I never noticed when enough stopped counting Till it moved the line I watched a man trade Sunday meals For a window twenty floors high Said he’d slow down once it settled Funny thing, it never did I’ve seen love bent into leverage Friends turned into calls returned late Every rung feels solid Till it starts to give There’s a serpent in the counting In the nods, in the score I keep winning things I wanted That I don’t recognize anymore I don’t know when enough is enough I just know it won’t hold still I never noticed when enough stopped counting Till I couldn’t tell the difference Between hunger and will It doesn’t sound like trouble It doesn’t feel like wrong It talks like common sense In your own voice, calm Says you’re close now Just lean a little more Never says what you’re standing on Isn’t there anymore I felt it tug when the room got loud When clapping drowned out doubt Felt it lean when I should’ve stayed Felt it smile when I bowed I don’t blame the wanting Wanting keeps you fed I just wonder who decides When you’ve crossed instead There’s a serpent in the counting Every “yes” feels justified I didn’t fall, I just kept leaning Till there wasn’t a side I don’t know when enough is enough I only know what it took I never noticed when enough stopped counting Till I looked And it was gone If happiness ever had a fence I never saw the sign I’ve seen men starve With a full hand
