**Gifted**

Pen-up pent-up thoughts,
these my gifts now.
Only time the opps ever rise
is when I sit down.

Steady moving, ain't scared,
ain't quitting now.
FAFO — I stick to creating
and let the BS bounce.

I gave up my heart
and watched you abuse it.
Now I'm heartless with a pen,
guess I found a new use for it.

Gave 'em truth,
they twisted it, tried to misuse it.
So I transmuted the pain —
now watch me produce from it.

I came a long way,
I ain't who I used to be.
Had to cut the dead weight
just to get to the truth of me.

Dropped the masks I had built,
found purpose in their place.
Funny how life finds balance
when you stop fighting peace.

Y'all bump fake news
and swear that shit the realest.
I hear the same recycled bullshit —
I just don't feel it.

They say the game holds weight,
you can tell who really carries it.
Some of y'all got bars,
but can't survive behind 'em when life parries it.

Everybody talking pressure,
I can tell who really folds.
Some people chase the paper,
I had to write mine through the cold.

I got issues with the system,
so I put 'em in the issue.
Turned everything they couldn't silence
into something they gotta listen to.

They tried to box me in,
I learned to think outside it.
Now every box they built around me
got broken by the mindset.

You can read between the lines,
but don't get lost inside the message.
I don't throw shots for attention —
I just aim 'em at the pressure.

Tried to cross me out,
so I drew a new line and flowed over it.

Now I got drive without a car,
got mileage from the pain.
Every break became a bar,
every scar became a name.

No cap —
I put the lid on what I used to tolerate.
Clear boundaries set
before that shit could seal my fate.

Now I'm focused,
I ain't looking for approval.
I found myself when I stopped
trying to make everybody else my ruler.

I don't chase clout,
I let the work get loud.
I don't need to stand out
when I already stand on what I vowed.

They can talk behind my back
because it's literally still behind me.
It's always the ones who try to blind you
that never see what's inside you.

Now everything I couldn't say
got converted into intent.
All that shit I kept bottled up
finally paying me back in rent.

So if I look calm,
don't confuse that shit with weakness.
I just learned how to contain it
without letting it contain me.

The thoughts stay heavy,
but the hand stay steady.
Pain gave me pressure,
pressure made me ready.

And everything they tried to break
became something I could build with.

I didn't lose the pain you sent.

**I just learned to create with it.**