Kingdoms and Caves

[Intro – Spoken Over Sparse Strings] Wind in the rocks… Dust on my feet… The king I fought for now hunts me like a beast. But You— You are my shadow in the heat, My fire in the night. [Verse 1 – Narrative] I’m running from the crown that once called my name, Bootprints in the sand, but my heart’s still aflame. Saul’s spear still rings in the walls of my mind, A memory of metal I keep trying to leave behind. Brothers-in-arms now whisper like ghosts, Every friend is a rumor, every hill hides a host. But I carry my story in a sling on my back— A shepherd, a soldier, a poet under attack. [Psalm Allusion – Half-sung, Half-spoken] “O Lord, how many rise against me… But You— You are a shield around me, my glory, the lifter of my head.” [(Psalm 3)] [Pre-Chorus – Narrative] The caves breathe with me, Like they fear what I fear. Every drip of water in the dark Sounds like footsteps drawing near. [Chorus] I hide in shadows but You find me in the dark, Your voice a spark— A flame in the hollows of my heart. Kings fall, kings rise, But You steady my eyes. In the storm, in the chase, I still run in Your grace. [Verse 2 – Narrative] I spared him— Twice— Cut the cloth, not the king. My dagger shook like a leaf, But mercy held the string. The men say, “Strike him!” But my soul says “No.” How can I kill the one You anointed long ago? So I run— Through forest, through valley, through dust— And my harp is my refuge When the world turns to rust. [Psalm Allusion – Sung in a plaintive minor harmony] “I cried unto the Lord with my voice, from the cave where I hid… You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” [(Psalm 142)] [Bridge – Whispered, rhythmic] They surround me like lions— But I will not be moved. My heart is steadfast. My heart is steadfast. [(Psalm 57)] [Chorus – Stronger, rising instrumentation] I hide in shadows but You find me in the dark, Your voice a spark— A flame in the hollows of my heart. Kings fall, kings rise, But You steady my eyes. In the storm, in the chase, I still run in Your grace. [Outro – Psalm/Narrative Blend, soft and breathy] “Deliver me from my enemies, O God…” [(Psalm 59)] But deliver me, too, From the fear inside. If You lift me to a throne, Let it not be by my hand But by Your promise, By Your word, By Your time