I heard you first in the taxi glass, City lights shaking on the dash. Your voice was mine but it didn’t bend, Every line perfect to the end. You sang my doubts like a practiced hook, Turned old scars into a pretty look. I felt my name in your every breath, But you left my quiet out of it. You were louder than my heartbeat. You were brighter than the floor. Every eye was on your echo, Till I wasn’t there anymore. I watched you glow in the bathroom line, People playing back your favorite lies. You told my fears like a party trick, Everybody laughing at the script. You never flinch when the strobe cuts out, I hear my pulse, you hear the crowd. You keep my tears in a major key, Turn them into something they can stream. I used to think you could save me, Make my silence sound like art. But every cheer that you borrowed Pulled another thread from my heart. So I stepped outside where the night was plain, Just wet cement and a distant train. No colored lights telling me who to be, Just the slow, soft sound of me. You can keep the flashing story. You can chase the faster high. I’ll be singing in the shadows, Where the truth still fits my size. Same core bass pattern, but smoother side‑chain pump, more open.
