44. Symbols with a Pulse

[Opening] A gallery of masks and emblems, the room began to glow A lion without teeth beside a white dove shadow, moving slow I came carrying mistaking the symbol of virtue for virtue itself, dressed for the night But a broken halo drew a narrow silver line toward the light [Verse 1] a gallery of masks and emblems, I watched a lion without teeth catch the light While a white dove shadow kept time with a city that would not wait I wore mistaking the symbol of virtue for virtue itself like a secret tailored close And every polished surface asked what I would become a broken halo leaned toward a red thread, but neither one could speak The bass moved under me like a second, steadier pulse I learned that glamour can hide an unmade decision Yet even the dark leaves one clean edge for truth I carried a scale carved in glass past the rooms that had misread me I heard a heartbeat behind a mask say the future was not closed The night offered comfort, consequence, and choice So I counted my breath before I answered the flame [Pre-Chorus] Do not call it destiny before the evidence is in Do not call it freedom when the habit always wins Let a heartbeat behind a mask turn slowly; let the hidden motive show There is still a better movement underneath the undertow [Chorus] Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse I can hear the future answering in time Not with easy innocence, but with a clearer line Where the heart and the consequence are finally aligned Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse Hold the truth with tenderness and leave the harm behind [Verse 2] There were a lion without teeth moments, beautiful and hard to read There were doors dressed as mercy and doors dressed as law I mistook speed for courage, silence for control I mistook a white dove shadow for the proof of what I need But the rhythm kept returning to the measure of a deed Not the story we announce, but the person that we leave I put the bright excuses on the table one by one And found a red thread waiting underneath each one No halo makes an injury disappear from view No wound makes every answer automatically true So I let the question travel farther than my pride Until responsibility could finally stand beside me [Duet Turn] FEMALE: I see a lion without teeth, but I also see the cost LEX: I know mistaking the symbol of virtue for virtue itself; I am counting what was lost BOTH: We can hold the contradiction without turning it to war BOTH: We can open one more honest, human door [Chorus] Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse I can hear the future answering in time Not with easy innocence, but with a clearer line Where the heart and the consequence are finally aligned Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse Hold the truth with tenderness and leave the harm behind [Bridge] If love is only heat, it burns the room it wanted to defend If reason is only ice, it never learns the shape of a friend If justice is only thunder, everybody hides from the sky So give love a conscience, give reason a pulse, give truth time to reply I do not need perfection to begin with testing images by their consequences and conduct I need the next responsible step, repeated until it becomes art [Quiet Refrain] Softly now: Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse Softly now: Symbols can awaken conscience, but character is proven by action. [Final Chorus] Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse I can hear the future answering in time Not with easy innocence, but with a clearer line Where the heart and the consequence are finally aligned Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse Hold the truth with tenderness and leave the harm behind Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse Now let the whole room answer: Do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse [Afterglow] Let a lion without teeth rest beside a heartbeat behind a mask until the morning knows Let do not worship the symbol; listen for the pulse be the last line as the curtain closes No life is only darkness, no lesson only pain We leave the room more careful, and we enter light again