Worth It If I Raise Them Right

Alarm clock rings at 5:12. Coffee's burnt but it'll do. Steel-toed boots by

the back door, same ones I wore yesterday too. Hands cracked like a gravel road.

Sun ain't up but I'm gone. Kiss my kids while they're still asleep.

Tell myself, "Keep movin' on." Bills on the counter, paycheck already spent.

Government takes a piece before I make a cent. But I punch the clock and

shoulder the load 'cause quittin' ain't an option I've ever known. It's worth every

callus, every mile I drive, every overtime hour just to keep

this life. Worth every tax dollar they pull from my name if it means