I listen quietly the whole way As you give your final pleas Desperation for my success Brings you to your knees Every bit of wisdom You wish someone had given you You hand the universe to me And I’m tethered in everything I do I nod my head, compliant Just as I know I should Convincing you I’d never do those things But in my heart I knew I would And I didn’t realize then But that final drive to school Was the last time we would be this way The last time I would be your fool Because when something’s all you know You think that’s how things are But my horizons would open up And they would take me far I wish I could give a whisper To the child in that seat And tell her to hang on As she was held against the heat For the cycle doesn’t break against The softness of the truth It’s a violent hurdle toward the flame That incinerates ignorance of youth So let those miles roll on by Don’t second guess yourself For there is freedom just ahead And that far surpasses wealth