Ancient Stone Cat

[Intro] Behind the glass, it waits Salt-worn jaw, green-gold blaze They say it’s only stone Still it keeps its own gaze [Verse 1] I came in for the maps For the labels, dates, and names But the hall bent sideways When I met those gemstone flames A guard said, "Keep moving" Yet I felt it track my shoes Like a cat in moonless alleys That already knows your moves [Verse 2] It sat above the sarcophagi Cold as a promise kept Tail curled like a question mark While the marble sleepers slept A tourist laughed, then stopped short Swore he saw the tail give way Just a twitch at the edge of sight Then the stillness took the day [Pre-Chorus] Don’t blink Don’t lean in It loves the half-seen It loves the in-between [Chorus] Ancient Stone Cat Eyes that never drift Ancient Stone Cat Tail in a cornered shift Ancient Stone Cat You feel it, then it’s gone Ancient Stone Cat Watching all night long [Verse 3] I circled once, then twice more Found a chip behind one ear A script of dust and river marks Older than the guide’s dry fear Somewhere deep in the casing A blue-green ember turned Not bright enough to call it light But enough to make me learn [Verse 4] Every angle gave me someone else A mirror with a pulse One moment it was a relic Next it wore a living hull Children pressed their palms to glass And swore it bowed its head Then the room went softer, heavier Like the cat had heard what they said [Bridge] If it was carved for a temple If it crossed from hand to hand If it guarded grain and funerals And the hush of desert sand Then why does it know my name Without a mouth, without a tongue? Why do I leave with its footprint When I only came for one? [Verse 5] The plaque said basalt, age unknown Origin lost in transit But the eye stones held a weather Like a storm that learned to sit A scholar traced the lacquer lines Said "trade route, ritual, queen" Then the tail flicked at his reflection And he went pale at nineteen [Verse 6] Now I dream the museum empty Every case unlatched at dawn And the cat walks through the hallways Where the last footstep is gone It never chases, never hurries It just waits where you can’t stare A little guardian of absence A soft-clawed doubt in air [Pre-Chorus] Don’t blink Don’t lean in It loves the half-seen It loves the in-between [Chorus] Ancient Stone Cat Eyes that never drift Ancient Stone Cat Tail in a cornered shift Ancient Stone Cat You feel it, then it’s gone Ancient Stone Cat Watching all night long [Outro] Behind the glass, it waits Salt-worn jaw, green-gold blaze I left with my own shadow And two small flecks of gaze