Morning crawls over helmets and stone A quiet so loud it bends the bones Boots learn the language of shattered glass Names turn into numbers too fast Letters sleep in pockets, never sent Promises rust at the edge of intent I found a red thread in the dust by the road Did it once belong to someone I know They said this line was drawn for peace But every step makes the map bleed The ground keeps count, the ground remembers What flags forget by September No victory sings when the earth is full Of voices buried and mercies dulled If this is honor, let it end I tie my fear to the red thread Pull me home through smoke and flame I want my name back, not your fame Static on the radio, half a prayer A child laughs somewhere, unaware Wind moves tin like a broken bell Time holds its breath, then exhales Medals shine but they weigh a ton Cold as the barrel when the deed is done Orders fall like winter rain Same old answers, newer pain History yawns, already bored No victory sings when the earth is full Of hands that learned how to pull If this is honor, let it bend I tie my hope to the red thread Lead me out of what we defend If enemies share the same red blood Who taught us hate before we could love Every mother speaks one tongue at night Please come home, please be alright The thread keeps stretching, mile by mile Stitched through fear, stitched through exile No victory sings, no righteous sound When silence is what survives the ground If this is peace, let war unlearn Every lesson it ever burned I drop my gun, I choose my breath I follow the red thread out of death Dusk folds the flags, the guns go still The thread is warm, it leads uphill
