You brought a clean white envelope Like mercy came with terms You say, “Put every copy in, I’ll make the exit clean” No loose ends in your account, no versions in between You call it being finished, call surrender being grown Stamp my leaving with your language, file the years you never owned You want the easy evidence: an empty hand, a nod A signature that says your cut was kinder than it was You slide the envelope across— I slide it back unread You don’t get to write the ending just because I left Keep the keys I choose what they unlock Keep the keys My past is not your box I can walk without your version of release You can keep your clean goodbye I keep the keys Now every promise shows its price in print beneath the fold “We’ll free you from the mess” means “Tell it as you’re told” Take the blame out of its setting, trim the names out of the scene Turn my crooked handwriting into something neat and mean You want my worst mistake preserved, my reasons scraped away Then label what survives of me acceptable to say But every tooth along this ring remembers who was there I won’t hand you custody and call the sentence fair Keep the keys I choose what they unlock Keep the keys No history on your clock I can leave and still refuse your edited release You can keep your clean goodbye I keep the keys One key against your open palm For half a breath, I want the quiet in your deal No more explaining what I meant, no more defending what was real My fingers open Metal leaves my skin Then I hear my whole life closing in your careful version NO— I take it back before it lands No witness gets erased for cleaner hands No rented verdict, no approved account You never had the right to count me out Keep the keys I choose what they unlock Keep the keys I answer every lock I will carry every version, every cut that made me speak You can keep your clean goodbye I keep the keys Keep the keys Grip them till the edges mark me Keep the keys No one gets them from me If every hand comes asking, mine stays closed Mine stays closed
