Frame Worn Thin

[Verse 1]
The house keys heavy, a weight I didn't frame,
Fourteen summers, the quiet changed its name.
My mama’s back bent low, the unseen labor’s trace,
I picked up blueprints, a man in a child’s place.
No playtime laughter, just a scaffold of unseen chores,
Learning to shore up walls, behind closed doors.

[Chorus]
Too fast, too soon, the timber splintered raw,
Built this whole damn structure, defying every natural law.

[Verse 2]
By twenty-two, the whole block knew my name,
A young architect, igniting every flame.
Verdigris on the old corner's soul, that's where I made my stand,
Had the city's blueprint clutched tight in my hand.
Thought I was king, on a throne of self-made beams,
Living out my immigrant parents' impossible dreams.

[Chorus]
Too fast, too soon, the timber splintered raw,
Built this whole damn structure, defying every natural law.

[Bridge]
But twenty-five hit, and the gimbal started to sway,
The load-bearing silence screaming at the close of day.
This edifice I built, brick by brick, joint by joint,
Just a heavy vestige, missing the whole damn point.

[Outro]
Foundations shifting, grain revealing strain.