Lyrics
[Verse 1]
The envelope waits beside the coffee cup
Two paragraphs erase eleven years
My badge is dead before the morning traffic
And every practiced answer disappears
[Pre-Chorus]
I built the rooms they’re closing
I know each bolt and seam
Now strangers call it progress
While I’m dismissed from the machine
[Chorus]
I lost the chair, not the hands that made it
Lost the title, not the fire inside
They can lock the doors and clear my cabinet
But they don’t get to choose where I arrive
I’m standing at the edge of an empty calendar
With nothing left to prove but time
[Verse 2]
The inbox turns to silence by Wednesday
The rent still takes its portion from the week
I count the groceries, cancel Sunday dinner
And learn how pride can make a person weak
[Pre-Chorus]
The years don’t vanish with a signature
The craft is still my own
A closed account can’t measure
What these two hands have grown
[Chorus]
I lost the chair, not the hands that made it
Lost the title, not the fire inside
They can lock the doors and clear my cabinet
But they don’t get to choose where I arrive
I’m standing at the edge of an empty calendar
With nothing left to prove but time
[Bridge]
Let the old clock stop
Let the severance burn
Every skill I carried out
Is a lesson they can’t return
I will send one more letter
I will make one more call
A career is not a building
And a setback is not a wall
[Instrumental]
[Final Chorus]
I lost the chair, not the hands that made it
Lost the title, not the fire inside
They can lock the doors and clear my cabinet
But they don’t get to choose where I arrive
I’m walking through the fear with my head uncovered
Turning one hard ending into a life
[Outro]
The morning comes without permission
I lift the phone and start again
