[Verse 1] Boots on polished stone Every step A curse A creed This crooked spine remembers fire These hands remember steel And screams that scalded softer men Ink-stained desk at dawn Files stacked Like skulls on spears Names and numbers Quiet murders Signed in careful Broken script [Chorus] I was beautiful once They say I burned bright Now I drag both feet through their silks and their spite I bite on the pain Like a coin in my teeth You can break every bone But you can't break belief Broken teeth Unbroken will Say it Say it I serve I serve—until [Verse 2] Chilly room One chair One lamp A single cup You drink fast Or you drink forever Your truth Your tongue Your pride Which first? I talk of mercy soft Offer warmth A slice of bread Then lean close Let the silence swell Let the promise Do the work instead [Chorus] [Bridge] Do you think I don't remember? [low vocal register] The pit The hooks The snow The way they watched me shuffle Like I was something they could own Now I'm the hand that trembles Over who will rise or fall Every question that I whisper Is an echo from that wall So pray your answers please me Pray your courage bends Because I have learned the language Where suffering persuades And ends [Chorus]
