Never Know Your Time

[Verse 1] Mama said “eat, baby, worlds don’t wait,” Pops said “watch the block” Now both of ’em live in the static when the brakes kiss the stop I keep a tab open in my chest, call it habit, call it debt Anxiety counts every footstep like the sidewalk placing bets Depression in a hoodie, face lit by the pharmacy glow Grief still wears his jacket, pockets full of shit I’ll never know Two talks cross in the aisle — “you remember when” and “pass the lighter” Nostalgia talking over trauma till the voices burn brighter, then quieter [Pre-Chorus] Dice in the gutter, no number showing Red light holding, green light going Ain’t got a map, ain’t got a sign What the fuck is a promise the clock never keeps on time [Chorus] You never know your time, it don’t knock, it don’t text, it don’t wait in line One breath the corner’s golden, next the gold is gone and you’re freezing outside You never know your time — could be the joke, could be the laugh cut in half So I keep my shoes on the concrete, tell the dark thought it can kiss my ass Never know your time [Verse 2] Uncle at the counter, “I was somebody back in ninety-three” Kid in the aisle filming nothing, both of ’em staring through me Addiction taps the glass like rain that learned my government name I tell the bottle not tonight; some nights it answers with my name Anxiety draws the route twice, misses the stop, rides it back Depression counts the ceiling cracks and swears the counting is fact Oral history by the detergent — wars, weddings, who still owes All of it braided, all of it breaking, none of it scheduled how it chose [Chorus] You never know your time, it don’t knock, it don’t text, it don’t wait in line One breath the corner’s golden, next the gold is gone and you’re freezing outside You never know your time — could be the joke, could be the laugh cut in half So I keep my shoes on the concrete, tell the dark thought it can kiss my ass Never know your time [Bridge] If the thought comes knocking I don’t give it the key Let it stand in the rain where the awning used to be I ain’t a schedule, I ain’t a clean little sign I light what I can, I stay, I breathe, I eat — still mine Conversations keep braiding, the dead and the living talk cheap I answer the living, I carry the rest, I don’t hand over my feet [Chorus] You never know your time, it don’t knock, it don’t text, it don’t wait in line One breath the corner’s golden, next the gold is gone and you’re freezing outside You never know your time — could be the joke, could be the laugh cut in half So I keep my shoes on the concrete, tell the dark thought it can kiss my ass Never know your time [Outro] Cooler-clock still lying, bus doors sighing, voices overlapping low “Eat, baby” — “watch the block” — “you remember” — and I don’t let go Never know your time