There’s a trick to the timing There’s a price to the calm Say it once like a warning Say it twice like a psalm I know want needs a wound to believe So I leave one thread tugging at the sleeve Let the silence do half of the selling Let the doubt come dressed as a feeling I learned young what a steady hand buys How a soft voice walks past a hard eye Give them something simple enough to repeat And they’ll call it truth by the end of the week Not too much, not too soon Just enough delusion to bend the truth Not the answer, only the cure Then they ask me for it more Say it again till it sounds like mercy Say it again till the doubt gets thirsty I don’t need faith, I need the fracture One clean line and the rest comes after Say it again with your eyes half open Sweeten the blade while the cut keeps going I don’t need love, I need attention Dressed up clean as redemption (Say it again) (Say it again) I know shame has a beautiful reach And it opens the mouth before it learns to speak So I keep one hand just out of sight Let the other offer versions of light There’s a kindness that corners the nervous There’s a promise that sounds like a service Give me hunger with nowhere to stand I can turn it around in the palm of my hand Not too close, not too far Just enough to call it ours Not the chain, just the choice Then they thank me for my voice Say it again till it sounds like mercy Say it again till the doubt gets thirsty I don’t need faith, I need the fracture One clean line and the rest comes after Say it again with your eyes half open Sweeten the blade while the cut keeps going I don’t need love, I need attention Dressed up clean as redemption (Say it again) (Say it again) The better the suit, the worse the apology The softer the word, the longer the reach Nobody wants to be saved from the story Once it explains what they wanted to need I used to mean it That’s the worst part I used to feel it Before I learned the art Now every confession arrives on schedule Every regret has a flattering side I can make almost anything sound gentle If I keep my breathing even and my teeth white (Say it—) (Say it—) Say it again till it sounds like mercy Say it again till the doubt gets thirsty I don’t need faith, I need the fracture One clean line and the rest comes after Say it again with your eyes half open Sweeten the blade while the cut keeps going I don’t need love, I need attention Dressed up clean as redemption Say it again till the shape looks holy Say it again till the doubt sits pretty I don’t need truth, I need permission One more beautiful repetition (Say it again) (Say it again) (One more beautiful repetition) (Say it again)
