It’s now or nothing, something or never.

Some days I want to submit
Selling my time is easy, no pressure.
A man with more money than he admits
Pays me hourly for short-changed measure.

Other days I want to fight.
Seize the day, stand for my humanness
Give myself my undeniable human rights.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

But most days I fall under the shroud
I sit back and dream of what I will be.
Each day slipping further into the crowd
Where I sell my time, to someone other than me.

The reasoning of a premature high schooler’s mind,
That someday when I grow up I’ll be something,
That I have dreams to accomplish, and plenty of time.
Truth be told, the clock is ticking, soon there will be nothing.

It’s now or nothing, something or never.
Do I sit back and watch my dreams die?
Do I devise some scheme barely clever?
Or do I say no and actually grab that ladder and climb?

What if instead of just reading you actually wrote?
Or are you afraid your words will be lost?
What if instead of listening you actually spoke?
Or are you afraid of what your words might cost?

Macklemore made it by confessing his sins.
Johnny Cash rose by breaking the status quo.
Chance the Rapper can barely sing, but wrote Blessings.
Do you really think these self-starters submitted?

No.


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My Empire of Dirt

When I was ten, my dad handed me a shovel.
He told me, “This will keep you out of trouble,
And although this life is going to hurt,
This is how you build your empire of dirt.”

I soon traded my shovel forward.
I would rather rattle the keyboard,
Than dig in the mines all day.
Despite my father making a living that way.

My computer turned into a degree.
I thought, “They will be proud of me.”
Breaking tradition!  Breaking the cycle!
To me, these things, you entitle.

While I built this temple of knowledge,
They were the ones paying for my college.
I ignored all of their hurt,
And watched as they dug deeper,
Their empire of dirt.