Just Keep Smiling

Just Keep Smiling

I. Burnout

I’m going to:
Wake up every morning smirking, When I see my eyes from overworking. ’Cause my white-collar nine to five, Has put me into fucking overdrive.
Then I’ll:
Do the dishes and make black coffee, Pay my taxes and do the laundry. ’Cause I love this culture conformity, God bless American society.
Driving down the I-94,
Empty bottles rattle on the floor, In my wife’s white Ford Explorer, When ahead… to my horror — Yellow sign, a lane closure, Anxiety disorder exposure.
And those pricks cut left, I can’t merge,

So I guess... I’ll swerve off the road in a fucking panic, Crash into a tree and die.
They’ll pull me from the flaming wreck, Just another dropout, mid-life wretch. Then drive me to the sick-house station,
Where privatized health insurance is my salvation.

II. Collapse

I’m going to:
Wake up every morning twisted grinning, When I see my broken face still spinning. ’Cause the check they sent didn’t cover,
So they threw me out and said, “Just recover!”
Then I’ll:
Do the chores and make my breakfast, Pay the landlord and mark my checklist. ’Cause nothing beats a disciplined living—Better than a goddamn prison.
Cleaning shit from toilet rims, Muscles sore in every limb.
While dozing to my favorite song—Just one slip, and it all goes wrong.
My nagging boss says I missed a smear, Anger-inducing tear,
I tell her “Piss Off!”, then lose my job,

So naturally... I’ll flush myself down the sewer drain, Get stuck half way and drown.
They’ll pull me from the clogged pipes, Another headline over-hyped.
Then drag me into unemployment,
Where Uncle Sam labels me life’s disappointment.

III. Breakdown

I’m going to:
Wake up every morning, cracked black lips curling, When I see my warted skin and teeth decaying.
From the bathroom wall, leaded water falls—The only thing Flint, Michigan could install. Then I’ll:
Do the crying, take my meds,
Pay the hooker, and forget my bread.
’Cause the forefathers died for this country, So suck it up, quit yapping you’re hungry.
Highway island begging cash, To afford my midday scratch. Like every addict’s cliché,
I’ll betray my body anyway.
Flushing pills down with my Bud Daniel’s, Mental Systematic Dismantle.
I don’t shut up when I see the pigs come in,

Let them watch…
I’ll break down screaming before they knock my head, Cuff me up, and haul me away.
They’ll throw me into a white padded room, Another institutional loon.
To toil away in governmental enslavement,
Where college grads stamp me societal endangerment.

IV. Captivity

I loathe my morning scowling. I despise the warden's calling.
I hate his cell inspection every day. I cringe from the advice he'll say.
“Smile through the pain, That's the trick to train”. So I smile:
Shirt Stained Bile, Split Teeth Vile, Scared Face Defiled, No More Guile, Cause Im Filed,
In A Pile, Awaiting My Trial, For Either Exile,
For My Reconcile... …
Maybe he’s right,
You just gotta Smile, Smile,
Smile…