[Title: One More Moment (Ritual)] [Verse 1] Black air humming at the edge of sleep, Ceiling like a lid over something deep. Heartbeat pacing in a crooked rhyme, Every second stretching, thinning out the time. Curtains drawn like eyelids over glass, Streetlight venom bleeding through in bands. Shadows stitching shapes along the wall, Every one a version of the way I fall. [Pre-Chorus] I keep my pulse on silent, keep my breathing small, Try to pass for harmless while I’m splitting at the wall. There’s a choir in my ribcage that I never let reveal— Every note a quiet verdict on what I refuse to feel. [B Section] You hear me whisper softly, “I’m still fine,” I just hope you catch me when I fall this time. This dream sits sickly, venomously real, Yet I lay down one more moment for your hands to steal. [Verse 2] Clock hands stagger like they’re drunk on fear, Every little tick feels louder than last year. Teeth on edge, jaw wired tight with doubt, Whole body chanting, “Don’t let it come out.” Phone face down like an unlit shrine, All the unsent messages gathering like flies. Names in the dark that I’ll never call, Ghosts of conversations stacked against the wall. [Pre-Chorus] I keep the smile rehearsed, I keep the mask aligned, Offer up a version that is easier to find. But underneath the static where the careful phrases peel, There’s a raw, red signal beating, begging to be real. [B Section] You hear me whisper softly, “I’m still fine,” I just hope you catch me when I fall this time. This dream sits sickly, venomously real, Yet I lay down one more moment for your hands to steal. [Bridge – Litany] If I fracture, let it be In the hands that chose to see. If I shatter, let each shard Spell the truth I’ve held too hard. If I fall through my own mind, Let me land where I’m defined. If this nightmare will not yield, Be the one who breaks the shield. [Final B Section] You hear me whisper softly, “I’m still fine,” I just hope you catch me when I fall this time. If this dream stays sickly, venomous and real, I will give you one more moment for your hands to steal. [Outro] Black air settling as the night moves on, Heartbeat slowing like a fading song. If I ever vanish in the seams of my own mind, Follow every fractured whisper till you hear this line.
