Black Pearl Hymn

[verse 1] The tide left you gleaming in hollowed-out light, A serpent of shadows to coil round my throat. Your beads count my breaths in the dead of the night, Each one hums a hymn only sinners can quote. [ambient interlude] [hook] [ascending progression] [Pre-Chorus] First pearl murmurs *"Darling, you're already crowned"* Second sighs *"Take what the heavens denied"* Third one burns with a sweet, saccharine sound— *"All that you hunger for sleeps deep inside"* [Chorus] Oh, I'm threading the dark through my veins like a hymn, Seven sins swinging soft from a silver-tongued string. They bloom in my marrow, they whisper my name— This necklace of nightfall is peeling my frame. [interlude] [hook] [ascending progression] [Verse 2] My reflection now flickers like candleflame lies, The pearls paint their gospel in oil-slick verse. *"Pride is a palace,"* the fourth one replies, As fifth pearl unlocks every hunger I've cursed. [Bridge] Sixth pearl weeps wax down my collarbone, Seventh just watches the wreckage I've grown: *"Sloth is the shroud that will cradle you home—" [Chorus] Oh, I'm threading the dark through my veins like a hymn, Seven sins swinging soft from a silver-tongued string. They bloom in my marrow, they whisper my name— This necklace of nightfall is peeling my frame. [hook] [ambient interlude] [outro slow breakdown fade] The tide comes to claim what the pearls have designed— A woman outlived by the lull of the tide.