Cornered System

Every day feels monitored.

Smile for the feed.

Bleed in private.

Stay calm—or else.

⸻

I learned real calm with my jaw locked tight

Smile practiced, pulse in a fight

They keep mistaking my silence for peace

Like I don’t feel the leash

Every move gets audited

Say the wrong thing, lose your ground

Say nothing, still get drowned

Call it normal—call it “progress” now

Every look says “prove yourself”

Every word tries to put me on a shelf

I’ve been good, I’ve been small, I’ve been tame

Still they circle my name

⸻

I don’t lash out—I calculate

Living’s become a narrow gate

You don’t hear it, but it’s there

Something ancient in my stare

⸻

There’s a fire I don’t release

An instinct underneath my skin

You push me back against the wall

Then wonder why it wakes again

I don’t snap, I don’t break

I adapt to what it takes

I’m not dangerous—I’m prepared

I’m what survives when I’m cornered

⸻

They judge the growl before the wound

Never ask what I lived through

They say “relax,” “you’re too intense”

Like intensity isn’t defense

Rent climbs high, patience drops

Empathy’s rare, outrage stocks

They call it choice, but stack the deck

Then blame you when you’re in debt

I keep my hands open, voice low

But my spine remembers how to go

From bending to standing straight

From mercy to calculated

⸻

You don’t see what it costs

To stay human in this exhaust

I don’t roar, I don’t plead

I conserve what I might need

⸻

This world don’t bend, it leans on you

Till your spine learns what to do

I keep my teeth behind my lips

That’s not weakness—that’s discipline

I don’t want power—I want ground

Somewhere solid I can stand

I’m not losing control

I’m taking it back with both hands

⸻

I wasn’t born sharp—I was made this way

By every time I had to stay

Still, polite, and unafraid

They want a villain or a saint

A face they can frame in paint

But most of us are just trying

To breathe without explaining

Fear learns faster than trust

And instinct never rusts

If my eyes go cold and clear

That’s not rage—that’s gear

⸻

There’s a force I keep in check

A choice between mercy and threat

So don’t confuse my calm with weak—

I’m peaceful… until I need to be.

Same world.

Same heat.

Still standing—

On my feet.