Lightning

I was struck by lightning
Not as a figure of speech; I was literally struck by lightning
It smells like a hospital on fire
Like the cleanest smoke you can imagine
Like spring water pulled apart by the atoms
It smells like recycled air on an airplane crashin'
What are the odds?
It didn't give me superpowers
So I guess I gotta take my chances
With small talk, weather reports and high traffic
With time clocks and time bombs and time passin'
When I'm not here anymore with my planet
Notice my absence, I swear
Some days are like carvin' your name into the capitol
With just your fingernails while the politicians laugh at you
And some days are worse
I wanna leave a legacy so they'll remember me for more than this verse
Please: hold your applause, hold it forever
There's so much that keeps us apart and so little that holds us together
But whatever that is we're gonna need it
It's gonna get worse before it gets better
And it only gets better when we do better
And we only do better when we fuse together
Yes, there's no progress without struggle
Whether you're an activist or just a kid in some trouble
A student graduatin' with debt
A single mother depressed
A little brother repressed, drippin' the sun as it sets
Into a habit hidden under the bed
The four walls echo something I said
When dark clouds gather
Remember to just fight back
Not everyone can be touched or struck like that
And survive, but you did
You've still got a spark inside, so use it
See I've learned a little bit about energy
I've learned when it enters you it loses charge
So the negative and positive are worth the same amount
The passion and the pain, the smiles and the scars
Whether you lost your job or won the lottery
That energy enters you, like a lightning bolt
And no matter how dark its origin, once it's inside you
It's yours to control
So what this means, is that those
Who've been through the most have the most to let go
There is strength in our anger, power in our pain
Even beauty in the hourglass' grains
It all depends on how we use it
Some people make music, some people make excuses
Some people make enemies, some make believe
Some people make the most of every tragedy
And me, I just wanna make a scene
Ain't gonna patiently wait for my pain to bury me
Ain't gonna waste all this energy chasin' popularity, or prosperity
I'd rather stand tall in solidarity
With everyone we've lost, because they're never lost
And every one of ya'll who stays forever strong
And we'll build basslines outta thunder
Rap to the rhythm of the rain and dance on the little bit of
Space that we have and build something lasting
As this empire's collapsing
And when they ask me to come along quietly
I'll say how can I quit
I've got lightning inside of me

[Chastity Brown Singing]