Permission to Breathe

I woke up this morning, reached for the device Scrolling through a feed of someone else's paradise They're selling me a feeling that I'm supposed to crave A carefully curated path from cradle to the grave Buy this cream, you'll be happy! Wear this brand, you'll be seen A million little voices screaming everything's serene But I don't recall ever giving my consent To spend my finite moments on this hollow, rented tent I'm suffocating on the shoulds, I'm drowning in the must Every expectation grinding my own bones to dust I'm tired of seeking validation from a silent, staring screen I'm done with living life inside a pre-approved machine I NEVER ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO BREATHE This air is mine, this heart is mine, this soul I will not leave You can keep your golden cages and your pre-fabricated dreams I'm tearing up the contract, I'm ripping out the seams I NEVER ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO LIVE And I'm taking back the only thing I've got to give My father wore the uniform of quiet, blind consent He traded all his passions for the mortgage and the rent He told me once, with tired eyes, "That's just the way it goes You work until you're hollow, then the final whistle blows" But I refuse his legacy, that quiet, sad defeat I'd rather starve a free man than be fat on lies and meat I'm drawing up a new map, where the borders are my own I'll build a life from chaos, on a foundation yet unknown I'm not a product on a shelf, I'm not a demographic The only trend I'm following is something close to tragic I'm breaking from the algorithm, I'm stepping from the queue I'm finally breathing air that doesn't smell like you I NEVER ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO BREATHE This air is mine, this heart is mine, this soul I will not leave You can keep your golden cages and your pre-fabricated dreams I'm tearing up the contract, I'm ripping out the seams I NEVER ASKED FOR PERMISSION TO LIVE And I'm taking back the only thing I've got to give NO MORE PERMISSION SLIPS