[Intro] A dot Teller Keys inside. Of course they are Past one. Rain on the landing again Coat on the chair. Twelve days gone My daughter behind a door her father can't open [Verse 1] Hand in my back pocket — no keys, just cold air inside Noodle receipt in my wallet — bus card empty, still trying to ride Past one. Door locked — I could wake her, but can't decide what's worse: her waking up shell-shocked, or finding her father outside Around back — the alley smelled the same as it always had Latch hanging slack — I feared a thief, not a dad Squatter in my apartment, impostor in my own frame Tonight I climbed in like a stranger wearing my father's name Drainpipe slick — one knee pressed hard on the windowsill Sole won't stick — just air, for one breath, still Window swings. I drop into my own kitchen, half-afraid Like a man who lived here all these years but never stayed Then I hear it — small footsteps in the hallway, soft but drawn long Nightlight backlit — a shape behind frosted glass, too tall, too wrong She screams at a shadow she doesn't know is her father I scream inside at the father I was never taught to author [Pre-Chorus] For one split-second — four feet, no door, no path Not metaphor, not legend — a shape behind the glass A shape she'll carry past sunrise, no matter how she tries I was the monster in my daughter's eyes [Chorus] A hit dog will holler Not 'cause the hurt was news The body couldn't choose 'Cause the blow found the bruise Her scream didn't name me the monster It only showed me what old fear does That shadow wasn't all I was I am not the monster — I never was [Verse 2] Kitchen floor — the bucket keeps time under the leak Courtroom door — swings open when the old charges speak Same face on the witness stand — judge, defendant, same fears Twenty years on the stand — same voice nobody hears I been the judge, prosecutor, executioner, and proctor Held court over the boy who never learned to love her proper Indicted the kid for the sealed letter left in the drawer Slammed the gavel so loud I started mistaking guilty for honor Cross-examined the man who spent nine years behind a broken latch Knew fixing meant deciding to stay, so he learned to detach Manslaughter of a quiet moment — no malice, no lies The court still calls it reckless when the quiet moment dies Been the silent partner in every single undoing I sponsored Nodded from the bench while I, the defendant, sat dishonored Tonight I heard the difference — and stepped back from the beat That sound inside my chest was never meant to be my heartbeat [Pre-chorus] Court adjourned — the old verdict gets reread Verdict overturned — spoken out loud, not just in my head Same blow found the bruise — old body stayed glued Same old wound, same old blues — but this time, I moved [Chorus] A hit dog will holler Not 'cause the hurt was news The body couldn't choose 'Cause the blow found the bruise Her scream didn't name me the monster It only showed me what old fear proved I am not the monster that the mirror approved And I'm the one who moved [Bridge] I forgive you, kid I forgive the boy who held her hand I forgive the boy who sealed the letter I forgive the man who lived there but never came home You didn't know better Nobody showed you better You're allowed to miss it The kingdom you lost was real [Verse 3] Stood up. Walked to her door. Didn't open it Bucket filled. Alley kept doing what it always does Sat with my back against the wood, letting the whole house calm down The boy with the sealed letter finally put the bag down The boy I sentenced was waiting on the windowsill while I was inside tonight I found out he never died She said Ba Ba? — two syllable, no punctuation, no forgiveness yet I been writing whole verses just to earn that two word: Ba Ba? Turns out “father” is a verb she was hoping I’d conjugate Tonight I learned what makes me a father isn’t sorry — it’s holding the weight Maybe someday she’ll tell her daughter what froze inside that hallway the monster didn’t walk away; he sat down and chose to stay [Outro] Shadow on the glass. Verdict in the chamber Author and antagonist. The silence and the stranger Dismissed the bench. Crossed out the monster Tonight, one name sworn in: the father
