Losing Your Balance

How are you feeling? Have you been sleeping? What are you eating? That's not enough How's the new job? Have you spoken to Mom? Which drugs are you on? Your voice sounds so rough Here comes the winter I thought you'd be thinner Maybe you could skip dinner Just for tonight Rack up more debt Spin some more webs Lie down in bed And slow down your mind So put on your shoes Go buy some food Just to get out of the house Put it away And call it a day Try not to sleep on the couch You're okay to drive, You only had wine, You'll just take it steady and slow Try to lean back As far as you can So the airbags don't break your nose You seem sort of restless Did you forget breakfast? You don't look well-rested Could you use a break? Then you should have worked harder You could have gone farther A part-time nonstarter Minimum wage Do you still feel nauseous? Have you still been coughing? At least you've been dropping A couple of pounds Just call in sick Miss a few shifts Or better yet, quit Keep making Mom proud You've beaten the system If you tighten your fists up Keep swallowing spit You'll keep your lunch down You've learned some new talents You've tried some inhalants You're losing your balance Spinning around Maybe next year You'll shift into gear Find a career And mortgage a home For now be content With scraping up rent Ignore the regrets They'll leave you alone So close all the blinds And turn out the lights Try not to damage your lungs Stare at the screen Your daily routine It starts to get hard to feel young Your hair starts to thin The wall closes in There's always a pain in your back So savor the taste Before it's too late 'Cause soon it'll be in the past Have you been flossing? You look exhausted Have you been talking To anyone new? Have you bought groceries? Do you feel lonely? Just let the phone ring And put it on mute How are you feeling? Have you been sleeping? What are you eating? That's not enough Write a new song Pretend nothing's wrong It shouldn't take long No need to rush