Intro
Ticket number curled in my mother's fist like a prayer
Fluorescent light hummed white like it never cared
Said the wolves don't howl round here, they smile and count
Every check we cashed came with a toll on the amount
Verse 1
Nine years old, held the door for a room full of ghosts
Folding chairs in rows, everybody guarding what they got close
Watched a man sell hope in envelopes marked cash advance
Told my mother it was easy money, called it second chance
She counted out the interest like a debt she couldn't shake
Said the system feeds you slow so the hunger never breaks
Caseworker stamped our file, called us case forty-three
Never learned our names but knew the number better than we
Outside the gate the check-cash vans lined up like a hearse
Circling the building slow, first in line, first to get worse
My father did a stretch for passing paper that wasn't real
Came home with a limp and a story he wouldn't reveal
Said the wolves inside wear badges, the wolves outside wear smiles
Both of them get fed the same, just differ in their style
I learned to hold my number like it was a piece of gold
Cause the ones who lost their patience were the ones the wolves controlled
Chorus
They circle where the checks come thin
Wolves don't wait for dark to move in
Line moves slow but the debt moves quick
We the ones still standing when the wolves get sick
Verse 2
Five years later I'm the one filling out the form
Mother's hands too tired, arthritis caught the storm
Same fluorescent hum, same numbered ticket call
Different face behind the glass but same cold to the wall
I bring my own pen now, learned that trick at ten
Cause the ones who borrowed theirs never saw it again
Watched a woman cry when they cut her benefits in half
Watched the same van outside offering her a laugh
Told her keep the number, don't let the interest bite
She looked at me like I was talking foreign in the light
Went home that night and taught my sister how to read the terms
Said the fine print bites you slower than the worst of germs
My father's limp got worse but his eyes stayed clear as glass
Said surviving ain't a moment son, it's a mile you gotta pass
Now I count my blessings different, count the wolves we dodged
Every stamp inside that office was a war we never lodged
Chorus
They circle where the checks come thin
Wolves don't wait for dark to move in
Line moves slow but the debt moves quick
We the ones still standing when the wolves get sick
Bridge
Now I drive the block on Fridays when the checks come out
Not to prey like they did, but to watch the exits and the routes
Pass out cards with real numbers, credit unions, not the vans
Tell the kids in folding chairs they ain't required to shake hands
My mother's number's papered on the wall above my bed
Case forty-three in gold ink, first debt I paid off in my head
Ain't rich, ain't got no gates but the ones I built myself
Every scar behind that glass is a story on the shelf
Outro
