The Cheapest Cigarettes

Two tall cans and the cheapest cigarettes to relieve
An honest man and another honest day of working.
It'll help him through the night;
It'll help him get some sleep.

Then he's up again and he's standing on the corner hoping
His dirty hands can once again earn him a living.
Then it's to the liquor store
Another night spent on the street

Then a thought occurs to me
With a knot inside my throat I balance on
A rope thinner than feet a thousand feet above
A canyon floor with one exception;
Everyone can clearly see the safety net waiting
For my falling body.

Look deep inside of muscles sore; there's acid eating
But there's still life in spite of everything retreating
Because a day of work still beats
Not having any days at all.

What good is pride? It never stopped a stomach aching
What good are rights when all you want is to be eating?
A little shelter from the rain
A little comfort in the cold
A stubborn thought it sickens me

And I never learned a better lesson
Than what I can't articulate about a smile and a sense of something better
In what should be desolate and desperate
Disenfranchised and disappointing and so distraught

I'm a fake a fraud a phone every step I take
In a broken smile, he reminded me
My net is bigger than a falling body.
My hands are clean but my soul is dirty.