[Intro] Set the cloth down. Let the old bones speak. [Verse 1] Auntie kept a pouch tied under the bed, White knuckles, brass button, stories she said. She spread out the hide by the kitchen chair, Tossed four little bones, read the spaces there. One faced the door, one turned to the wall, She said, “Don’t chase a crown if you’re built to fall.” I had plans in my coat, had a name to defend, She saw a hard road bend before it could end. [Chorus] Bones on the cloth, let ’em fall where they fall, Read the gap, read the turn, don’t ignore that call. No crown in the pouch, no promise carved in stone, The hand that throws the bones still walks back alone. [Verse 2] My brother laughed loud, said the signs were a game, Then he left by the alley with a pocketful of blame. Auntie watched the doorway, didn’t raise her voice, Said, “The bones show a crossing; you still make the choice.” So I cut through the market, took the long way round, Let the hot talk cool till the sun went down. By dusk he came back with his pride bruised thin, And the old woman smiled like she knew where we’d been. [Chorus] Bones on the cloth, let ’em fall where they fall, Read the gap, read the turn, don’t ignore that call. No crown in the pouch, no promise carved in stone, The hand that throws the bones still walks back alone. [Bridge] Not fate in a bottle, not luck you can own, Just a question laid out in the shape of a bone. Listen close, move smart, keep your people in sight, The sign points the road; your feet choose the night. [Outro] Fold up the cloth. Keep the lesson, leave the show. Some things you read in the fall—some you learn as you go.
