Before I had the words I had the sound Somebody sang through the dark And I’m here now I learned to fold my thunder into table talk Smile with a whole storm caught behind my jaw Wore a little version of my name outside Kept the rest beneath my tongue, alive Grandmother hummed while she braided my hair Never knew the song, but my bones went there Now it finds me in a room of my own Like a voice on a disconnected phone Something in my chest keeps time With a life I haven’t met I can feel her reaching back I can hear her saying— Leave me untranslated Let my whole name shake the room I was sacred in the making Even when I couldn’t bloom Oh, I belong in my body Oh, I belong to my breath If I’m becoming somebody Let her be somebody I’ve met Leave me untranslated I remember who I am Bare feet, bass through the kitchen tile Caught my own reflection, stayed a little while No fixing the angle, no hiding the face Just me getting used to taking up space Got a little dirt underneath these dreams Had to dig myself out of what love should mean Now the future pulls up with the windows low And a song I knew three lifetimes ago Something in my chest breaks wide And I let the feeling stay All the pieces I put down Have been walking back my way Leave me untranslated Let my whole name shake the room I was sacred in the making Even when I couldn’t bloom Oh, I belong in my body Oh, I belong to my breath If I’m becoming somebody Let her be somebody I’ve met Leave me untranslated I remember who I am Some nights I still speak softly To the girl who learned to hide I don’t drag her toward the daylight I sit down there by her side Till she reaches for my fingers Till we both can bear the sun Rebirth sounded like two footsteps Where there used to be just one Leave me untranslated Let my whole name shake the room There is nothing here to straighten Let the wild grow where it grew Oh, I belong in my body Oh, I belong to my breath I can hold who I am becoming With the hands that I have left Leave me untranslated Hear the living in my name I have changed a thousand seasons And the root of me remains Before I had the words I had the sound I sang into the dark And heard myself sing out
