Tethered

(Verse 1: Day 1) The floor beneath groans like a beast half-awake The air wears the weight of decisions I fake Down the hall, a girl spins, her ribbons unfold Each circle precise, a story retold A man on the stair counts with fingers too tight His lips barely move, his eyes lost in the fight The sky isn’t blue; it’s a bruise, it’s a scar The day bends like metal, brittle and hard The streets hum sharp, the signals misaligned I walk them in patterns, but they rewind Each corner I take folds into the last Time loops like a tether, pulling me back (Chorus) Tethered to time, no forward, no end Each second collapses, then rises again A prisoner of hours, chained to the line Tethered to time, I’m losing my mind Tethered to time, no forward, no end Each second collapses, then rises again (Verse 2: Days 2 & 3) Day two bleeds in like a cut left too raw The girl spins again, her ribbons withdraw The man counting numbers now mouths them in threes Each stair echoes louder, like it’s mocking me The trees on the corner sway, sharp and obscene Their branches draw maps, but they never convene The asphalt cracks open, though no rain falls The streetlights hum louder, an insect’s call By day three, I claw at the seams in the thread Stop the girl spinning, grab the numbers he’s said But the ribbons rewind, the digits erase I’m left in the same cold, familiar space (Chorus) Tethered to time, no forward, no end Each second collapses, then rises again A prisoner of hours, chained to the line Tethered to time, I’m losing my mind Tethered to time, no forward, no end Each second collapses, then rises again (Verse 3: A Thousand Days) A thousand loops later, the girl slows her turn Her ribbons stretch endless, a lesson unlearned The man on the stair counts the same hollow sum His face is a mask, his whispers undone I’ve named all the shadows, I’ve mapped every crack I’ve broken the branches, but they just grow back I’ve run to the edge, but it circles around The tether won’t snap, I am tied to the ground A master of patterns, I see every line But the weight of control isn’t purpose—it’s time The tighter I hold, the more I am bound This loop is a prison I build to confound (Bridge) I let go of the ribbon, let the numbers dissolve Let the loop unravel, no problem to solve The stairwell shifts, the branches bow low The tether unknots, and the current lets go The air feels lighter, the girl disappears The man’s count falters, his voice unclear The loop wasn’t broken; it was simply unwound And time moves forward, no longer bound (Final Chorus) Tethered to time, no longer confined Each second now breathes, the line redefined No longer a prisoner, no longer the same Tethered to time, I’ve loosened the chain Tethered to time, no longer confined Each second now breathes, the line redefined (end)