The sink’s been dripping since the winter came, Same loose handle, different kind of pain. I count my breath between the ticks of the clock, Like I’m waiting on a door that forgot how to knock. There’s fingerprints on the edge of the day, Things I meant to say but never could say. I sweep the floor like it owes me the truth, Every corner’s got a memory with teeth in it too. I learned real quick what silence costs, What you bury deep still keeps a pulse. You don’t outrun the weight you carry, You just learn how to hold it steady. It’s a slow walk through a room full of yesterdays, Every step feels borrowed, every breath feels paid. I’m not chasing forgiveness, I’m not asking to be free, I’m just trying to live with what’s still living in me. Yeah, I’m learning to stand where the shadows stay, Not everything broken needs to go away. There’s a crack in the wall shaped like my name, I traced it once just to feel the blame. People say “move on” like it’s flipping a switch, Like the past don’t whisper when the present gets quiet. I see the kids laugh and it hits me hard, How close we were to falling apart. I don’t need to be clean, I don’t need to be right, I just need to show up in the middle of the night. Some scars don’t fade, they teach you where not to lean, Some lessons only show up in between. I don’t need a hero, I don’t need a sign, Just the strength to stop calling survival a crime. It’s a long stare at the man in the glass, Trying not to flinch at the things that last. I’m not rewriting history, I’m not pretending I’m new, I’m just choosing what the damage doesn’t get to do. Yeah, I’m still here when the noise fades away, Turns out staying counts as brave. If love’s a language I learned the hard way, In broken sentences, half-words, delays, Then let me speak it with my hands and my time, With showing up sober, with drawing the line. No more bleeding just to prove I care, No more setting myself on fire to keep others warm in there. It’s a quiet kind of strength you don’t see on display, No crowd, no clapping, no dramatic escape. I don’t need to win, I don’t need to explain, I made it this far, I can carry the weight. Yeah, the house remembers everything it’s known, But it’s finally learning I’m not living here alone. The drip finally stopped. I fixed it myself. Turns out some things don’t need noise.... Just staying.
