The Brambles

I feel lost, but never defeated Bruised, but battling Some days, all that comes out of my mouth is air As that euphoria disappears once again It feels like a finale, the end I wander past army ads on bus shelters Vape shops, lottery counters, lucky dipped And I try to catch my reflection on a boarded up display Yeah, I feel okay, but I'm tired of this struggle These anxieties, this small talk I lose track of the thread going around in my head And I just need to stop and breathe To recap, to feel at ease I'm sure it'll come back to me, just wait a sec, please But no, it's gone Probably nothing, so let's move along And I've walked this pavement before I remember the wet concrete And where trees once stood The rose-tinted good Long gone now, trampled upon Plans for something shiny never appeared As the future 'round here always seems to disappear That fly killer light from the chip shop Pours into the puddles outside And it's not just my memory that hides This loneliness An edge that used to be smooth I drag my limbs through that shift in the air A discarded wheelie bin, smashed in shelter The usual cliché of urban decay The huff and puff of continuous dismay Anchors to live and die by, that old-fashioned way As suits scramble on a tightrope above, gluttonous, trough scoffed Full of congrats, fleeing like rats Leaving us with nothing but performative pride And whatever we've got left inside As sometimes you've just got to run and hide You've just got to run and hide