I am the walking stat
The collateral on the welcome mat
I'm not a victim, I'm a fact
A simple box to check, and that is that
I taught you the game
I whispered your name
I carried your flame
I watched you improve
I saw you make your move
I had nothing to prove
I was the mentor
The one who opened the door
The one you came back for
And then the email dropped
At nine o'clock today
A single sentence that just blew my world away
I saw your name in bold, and mine in the line below
"thanked for his service, now it's time for him to go"
I looked at you, your eyes were wet
"This is the proudest I have ever been, I guess"
I am the walking stat
The collateral on the welcome mat
I'm not a victim, I'm a fact
A simple box to check, and that is that
The farewell party
They say "don't take it hardly"
My smile is tardy
They talk of "progress"
Of fixing up this "mess"
I'm supposed to say yes
This isn't your crime
You just knew how to climb
It was just your time
I pack my life inside a cardboard box
The photos, files, the ticking of the clocks
And I see my skill, my work, my every deed
Was just a variable in their diversity creed
I'm not a man they're letting go
I'm just a space they had to grow
I am the walking stat
The collateral on the welcome mat
I'm not a victim, I'm a fact
A simple box to check, and that is that
You take my old chair
A breath of fresh air
A win for the fair
I'm leaving the key
No animosity
Just tired of being me
I'm not a misogynist
I'm just the plot twist
The name they dismissed
I don't blame you
It would be too easy to put a human face on this long
Cold misery
My only foe is an Excel sheet
A corporate policy, discreet and neat
They didn't promote a woman
They just erased a man
To make the company photo fit the brand new plan
I am the walking stat
The collateral on the welcome mat
I'm not a victim, I'm a fact
The simple box to check that finally cracked