Shoulders Square

[Chorus]
You just keep your shoulders square
Breathe that tired civic air
Yeah, you just keep your shoulders square
Like you were ever going anywhere

[Verse 1]
The scuff marks on the gym floor at Holy Redeemer
Smell like chalk dust and floor wax from a half-forgotten fever
You check your watch, it’s 8 AM on a Tuesday in November
And the woman with the clipboard is a face you don't remember
But she looks right through you, polite and made of glass

[Chorus]
You just keep your shoulders square
Breathe that tired civic air
Yeah, you just keep your shoulders square
Like you were ever going anywhere

[Verse 2]
This ain't a garden, it's just triage for the weeds
Deadheading all the bitter thoughts you planted from the bad seeds
Seven years you learned the patience of a perennial root
Waiting for a thaw that never promised any fruit
Grandpa's voice a low hum, "Just show up, is all."

[Bridge]
And you feel it for a second, a current in the room
A quiet graft of hope that pushes back against the gloom
A shared nod with a stranger, a silent, fragile pact

[Outro]
Out on Michigan Avenue, the cold air feels brand new
You kept your shoulders square.