[INTRO — warped soul sample, no drums] I got lost looking in the mirror… Not because I couldn’t see myself. Because I could. And I realized… I don’t know this man anymore. Mirror, whispered: You should. [BEAT DROPS] [VERSE 1] I stare at my reflection like I’m looking at a stranger, Same eyes, same face, but the soul feels rearranged, When the hell did I become somebody I don’t know? Was it one specific moment—or a thousand little blows? I remember being younger, I remember having dreams, Before disappointment taught me nothing’s ever what it seems, Before I learned to read a room before I walked inside, Before “I’m doing good” became another way to lie. Now I don’t trust a compliment, I question every hand, Always looking for intentions, always studying the man, I call it being careful— MIRROR: No. You call your trauma wisdom. MAN: What the fuck you say? MIRROR: You heard me. [DRUMS CUT] You didn’t become stronger. You became harder. [VERSE 2 — beat returns heavier] Maybe harder kept me breathing when my world was falling down, Maybe nobody came looking when I needed them around, Maybe every disappointment took another piece of me, Until the man inside this mirror became all that I could see. MIRROR: Keep making excuses. MAN: I’m explaining what happened. MIRROR: No. You’re defending what happened. Damn. That’s different. MIRROR: Exactly. MAN: So tell me where I lost him, since apparently you know, Was it every person leaving? Every time I let one go? Was it anger? Was it pride? Was it years of holding grief? Was I building up protection— Or burying underneath? [HOOK — haunting soul vocal] I lost myself inside the mirror, Can’t recognize the man I see, I know the face that’s looking back… But I don’t know if that’s still me. Where’d I go? Where’d I change? When did everything inside become this strange? Same reflection. Same eyes. Different man staring back tonight. [VERSE 3 — stripped drums] MIRROR: You wanna know when you changed? MAN: Tell me. MIRROR: Every time you said “I’m fine” when you weren’t. Every goodbye you never mourned. Every apology you deserved but never got. Every person you forgave with your mouth but never forgave in your thoughts. Every time somebody hurt you and you promised you’d never feel that way again. Brick… by brick… you built walls. Then one morning— you couldn’t remember who you were protecting. [SILENCE] MAN: So what am I supposed to do? MIRROR: Stop asking me. MAN: Why? MIRROR: Because I’m only showing you what you brought here. [VERSE 4 — sample flips] That’s when it hit me— The mirror wasn’t judging me, Wasn’t some demon in the glass standing above me, Every answer that I heard was already in my head, Just truths I kept avoiding finally getting fucking said. Maybe I don’t need the person that I used to be, Maybe finding yourself doesn’t mean recovering history, Maybe some pieces died because they couldn’t make the trip— But that doesn’t mean the man who made it here has gotta live like this. I put my hands against the sink. Looked directly in my eyes. For once I didn’t look away. Didn’t cover shit with lies. Said— I don’t know you anymore. But maybe that’s alright. We got some things to talk about. And brother… we got all night. [FINAL HOOK — huge drums + soul sample] I lost myself inside the mirror, Couldn’t recognize the man I’d see, But maybe that reflection isn’t somebody I’m supposed to flee. Same reflection. Same scars. Same story underneath. I don’t know this man anymore… So tonight I’m gonna meet me. [OUTRO — drums disappear] MIRROR: You coming back tomorrow? MAN: Yeah. MIRROR: Why? MAN: Because I’m tired of meeting strangers every time I look at me. [vinyl stops]
