Birdsong In The Cul-de-Sac

[Verse 1] Box house Box yard Box thoughts Two-car garage Motion light flicks on and off like God can’t make up His mind tonight Sprinklers hiss at 4 a.m. Perfect lawn plastic fence Dad’s awake scrolling through a phone glow like a rosary he never says Kitchen clock clicks microwave hum Dog hears what we won’t name There’s a bird on the power line screaming I’m pretending that it’s just “singing” again [Chorus] I don’t want it to sound right I want it to cut through Give me the truth I can’t argue The bird sings ’cause it has to The flower opens no one asked to I don’t want it to sound right I want it to bruise too Say what is not what soothes you The bird sings ’cause it has to The flower opens and it outgrows you [Verse 2] Mom’s smile tight like Tupperware Saved for guests never for despair “You’re blessed” on a fridge magnet Next to bills we pretend are answered prayers Street’s safe if you don’t look deep Just cul-de-sac loops and cul-de-sac sleep But the sewer grate breathes like a lung underground every time a kid bikes past that sound We mow down weeds call it care Hide our rot under folding chairs Behind every vinyl siding grin is a locked room we don’t walk in [Chorus] I don’t want it to sound right I want it to cut through Give me the truth I can’t argue The bird sings ’cause it has to The flower opens no one asked to I don’t want it to sound right I want it to bruise too Say what is not what soothes you The bird sings ’cause it has to The flower opens and it outgrows you [Bridge] What if this is it Not a dress rehearsal What if every breath already irreversible What if all your takes all your clever phrases Turn to dust when the raw fact raises You don’t get to vote on gravity Don’t get a say in mortality You only choose if your mouth stays shut when the quiet truth finally kicks your gut (yeah) [Verse 3] I was raised on “it’ll all work out” Yard sale faith in a folding pouch But the cracks in the driveway spell out names of the people we lost we don’t dare claim Mailbox stuffed with “your choice matters” But the sky don’t care who’s on the banner Sun still sets on the same old slant Over rust on the swing set over dead houseplants So I stand on the curb hear the bird at dawn Zero stage zero camera on Let the words come out like they own this breath Not to make you clap just to cheat one death [Chorus] I don’t want it to sound right I want it to cut through Give me the truth I can’t argue The bird sings ’cause it has to The flower opens no one asked to I don’t want it to sound right I want it to bruise too Say what is not what soothes you The bird sings ’cause it has to The flower opens and it outgrows you [Outro] Streetlights fade but the bird keeps going Flower wilts but the seed keeps knowing This is all of it right here, right now Not the part we frame just the naked vow [harsh strings swell, vocal almost a whisper] I don’t want it to sound nice I want it to be true If it never leaves this block let it still change you