[Verse 1 – The Return] I don’t cry when I walk—I crack leaves Soft-footed, hard-hearted, wind in my sleeves You don’t see me, but you feel me near Your skin shivers where I smear fear Left me bleeding under pine and sky Told your boys I was “too wild to die” But the moss took me in, and the root said “rise” Now I move like a memory you can’t disguise [Pre-Chorus – Warning in the Silence] You prayed I’d be healed, not real But the forest kept every feel You made me myth, but I stayed flame You lost the trail when you spoke my name [Chorus – Where the Deer Go] Where the deer go, I go Backwards in snow You won’t catch me, just echoes Of what you’ll never know I don’t bleed to be holy Don’t speak to be seen I leave no prints unless you’re guilty Then I walk straight through your dream [Verse 2 – The Mirror] You call it justice, I call it delay You burn sage, but you smell like prey You forgot the girl, but the girl never did I watched you drink / while I buried the kid I’m not here for your reckoning I’m the breath behind your questioning I don’t forgive. I don’t explain. I show you truth and then it rains [Pre-Chorus – Spirit Knows] You dance, I wait at the tree line You chant, but forget the sign You wear feathers like they’re yours to own But I still hear the names you never atoned [Chorus – Even Closer Now] Where the deer go, I go With no drum, no show You don’t summon what you stole from I return where rivers know I don’t bleed to be soft Don’t kneel to be clean If you see hoofprints, turn around— Or walk straight into your dream [Bridge – The Names Return] Squaog. The woman who bled and walked away. Neèsse Manitouwog. Those who hold both sky and clay. Ahtuksquaw — The girl with hooves, the wound in mist The one you thought the land dismissed But She is still here, in root and smoke— A ghost? No, a joke on those who choke. [Final Chorus – With Fire Now] Where the deer go, we go Don’t care if you know We speak in dreams, not apologies We walk where blood can grow I don’t come for revenge I come for the real And if you feel warm in the forest— You’re not alone in what you feel [Outro – Whispered, Echoed] She walks… Where the deer go She breathes… Where no man knows She speaks… Where silence grows She leaves… Before the footprints show Ahtuksquaw. Still walking. Still watching. Still whole.
