[Verse 1] Let the man cut my toe Thought I’d walk out whole Stubborn red in my shoe Turned black Then it was through Signed the form Watched the glove Thinking “this is what I get for love Of putting off one more appointment” Now I count to nine Stay silent [Chorus] I lost a toe But kept my rage Kept my jokes My quiet stage Keep my work up one more page Up there She says “no” to the lift “no” to the ride Down those steps in the dark of night So I limp So I cling to the rail and I pray That I don’t pay twice for this day [Verse 2] All I want’s a cage of my own Tiny room in a tall stone home Walk to the Met in the gray cold air Stand by a painting Just stand there She shakes her head “we have a house” As if marble lions don’t count So my passport’s an old subway map Folded Faded in my lap [Chorus] I lost a toe But kept my rage Kept my lists My turning page Little squares of city I can’t claim Still mine She says “no” to a key “no” to that door Keeps our world on one worn floor So I sit Sketch skylines from this chair Wish I were stuck over there [Bridge] Clerk says “box two Not three” On my brother’s last decree Wrong word on the printed line Like it changes how he died I argue with a screen With a stamp With a name Whole life filed wrong Then they say “it’s the same” Walk out holding paper that feels like a lie Fold it small Tuck it deep Try not to cry [Verse 3] Then I tell you ’bout a piece I made Once upon a time for Cage How he laughed at the little gaps Silence breathing through the cracks Toe is gone Stairs are steep Death certificates come cheap But that story makes me sit up straight Hear the page turn Feel it wait [Chorus] I lost a toe But kept my rage Kept my ear for empty space Kept that night his quiet face Right here She says “no” to my lifts “no” to my flights Still I steal these crooked nights Where a missing note A missing step A missing name Become the start of something strange [Outro] One less toe One more line One more fight I underline Can’t get my way So I get my page Stairs Toes And John Cage
