Don’t wait for a better day.
Don’t dress it up clean.
If you’re leaving, say it now
while the floor still knows me.

Phone lit up at a quarter past two,
your name came cold in a room gone blue.
I knew that tone, that careful blade,
soft little words with the handle taped.
You said, “Can we talk?”
I said, “Talk then.”
Rain in the gutter kept counting ten.
I had rent due, bad news, coffee gone sour,
same black shirt for the second straight hour.
Don’t pick spring when the windows open,
don’t pick peace when the ribs stop smoking.
Hit me now while the bruise is fresh,
while my good shoes still got street on them.
I can take one wound with the others awake,
one more crack while the mirror still shakes.
But don’t come smiling when I stand back up—
that would feel like love, and I’d believe too much.

Do it while I’m down.
Don’t wait till I heal.
If the knife is in your mouth,
let the sharp part feel.
Say it now.
Say it plain.
Don’t save me for later pain.
Do it while I’m down.

You always did hate a messy exit,
left clean rooms with a ghost in the checklist.
Keys on the counter, coat in your hand,
half of your heart already packed in a van.
I saw the truth in the pause before “baby,”
saw the whole house tilt when you tried to save me.
Don’t be kind if the kindness is rented,
don’t kiss the wound if your bag’s already zipped.
I’d rather hear thunder than weather reports,
rather see blood than a mercy performance.
Stack the bad day with the bad news too,
put the last black card where the others fell through.
I won’t beg the door to forget your weight,
won’t call your leaving by a softer name.
Just don’t wait till the sky clears out—
if you’re going, do it while I’m down.

Do it while I’m down.
Don’t wait till I heal.
If the knife is in your mouth,
let the sharp part feel.
Say it now.
Say it plain.
Don’t save me for later pain.
Do it while I’m down.

There’s mercy in the timing
if the timing doesn’t lie.
There’s cruelty in the quiet
when goodbye keeps passing by.
So bring the whole storm early.
Let the roof give out tonight.
I’d rather drown once honestly
than learn to fear the light.

Do it while I’m down.
Don’t wait till I heal.
If the knife is in your mouth,
let the sharp part feel.
Say it now.
Say it plain.
Don’t save me for later pain.
Do it while I’m down.

Leave the key.
Take the sound.
Close the door
while I’m still down.