Yeah... Ten years
Ten years running on a temporary cache
Time to run the script
#!/usr/bin/env zsh
git checkout free
bazel clean --expungeI remember the date, stamped in the passport page
22 years old, stepping onto the stage
But the stage had a cage, invisible bars
Looking up at the stripes, couldn't see the stars
I was an "Alien Number," nine digits long
Trying to hum the anthem, but I didn't belong
Every three years, filing the extension
Living life in a state of suspended suspension
Don't switch jobs, don't make a mistake
Don't get sick, don't give ‘em a reason to break
The contract. I was an asset, a row in a sheet
While I walked on eggshells down the concrete street
Golden handcuffs, yeah, they shine so bright
But they rust on your wrists in the middle of the night
Checking the status, refresh the screen
Praying for a color that I've never seen
Finally switched the branch, I'm changing the key
Hit the enter button, git checkout free
Wipe away the errors, erase the sponge
bazel clean, yeah, --expunge
I'm burning the paperwork, watching it fly
No more fear of the border, no more scraping by
The system is rebooting, the update is plain
deploy.sh --no-drain
The letter came in on a Tuesday, random and gray
"Notice of Action," that's what they say
I held the envelope, hands shaking with sweat
Thinking 'bout the decade and the unpaid debt
Not money, but time. The birthdays I missed
The weddings back home, the names on the list
Of the people who left while I waited in line
For a piece of plastic to tell me I'm fine
I opened it up, saw the Liberty Bell
Welcome to heaven, you're out of the hell
But why don't I feel happy? Why do I feel cold?
I feel like a soldier who did what he's told
Came home from the war, but the war's in his head
The fear of the "status" isn't quite dead
PTSD from the USCIS
Cleaning up the trauma, cleaning up the mess
Finally switched the branch, I'm changing the key
Hit the enter button, git checkout free
Wipe away the errors, erase the sponge
bazel clean, yeah, --expunge
I'm burning the paperwork, watching it fly
No more fear of the border, no more scraping by
The system is rebooting, the update is plain
deploy.sh --no-drain
They say "Emancipation," I say "Exhale"
But I'm looking at my friends who are still in the jail
Not a literal prison, but a prison of dates
Priority queues and the whims of the Fates
I got the ticket, but I've got the guilt
Standing on the foundation that we all built
So this isn't a party, this is a wake
For the person I was, for the time that it takes
To feel like a human, and not just a file
It's gonna take more than a card and a smile
To fix the wiring, to patch up the core
But I ain't looking back at the lock on the door
So I pack up the boxes of anxiety
Step out the door into society
Legally permanent, mentally scarred
But holding the world in the shape of a card
No drain on the server, I'm keeping it live
I survived the lottery, managed to thrive
So watch me deploy, watch me execute
I'm planting my tree and I'm growing the root
Deploying...
Status: Green
We are live
Yeah
deploy.sh //... --no-drain