[room tone. workshop. low hum. dust in air. no music] [voice 1: old man. low. dry. unhurried. almost whispered but clear. close mic. breath audible. no reverb. speaks like sanding wood with his voice] [Verse 1] I have a bench [pause] I have a stone [pause] I have a hand that remembers what my mouth forgot [breath] [Hook] [sung. low. tired. almost spoken. not angry] I do not know the root I want to be mine The leaf was never the point I want to be mine [voice 2: young. fast. bright. over-articulated. polite. screen-learned. too clean] [Verse 2] I have answers All of them Perfect. Fast. Free. [pause — first crack] It's not wrong. It's just not mine [Hook] [sung. low. tired] I do not know the root I want to be mine The leaf was never the point I want to be mine [voice 3: machine. flat. genderless. no breath. dry. close. too warm. too kind. no reverb] [Bridge] I can write the leaf I do not know the root I can fail I just don't feel it [pause] You can sleep I'll stay I'll be perfect for both of us [voice 1 returns — soft. low. almost whispered] [Hook] [sung. low. tired] I do not know the root I want to be mine The leaf was never the point I want to be mine [Outro — voice 1. spoken. not sung. slow. each line a step. no music behind] I work With my hands And I fail And I come back [pause — protect this silence] The leaf was never the point [end. silence. do not fill. no reverb. no fade. just stop]
