[Intro, bass only] [Verse 1, male rap] Shadows watching close each breath I still take Figures speak twisted, bending silence they make Burden pressing weight around the narrow stair for me They build cold walls like towers, so softly I walk unseen I recall bare cupboards with the quiet sitting still – that was all I held, but now Now I pour pages that shake foundations I’m moving strong like echoes carved on hidden ledgers Since I’m never bending in the gale, with companions sharp, like steady blades in corners I keep the story buried steady in my chest And if they shove, I will cut their chain like lightning under grip so steady So keep your windows open, I got my kin still steady, lifting hands inside the circle with their anger still glowing Since they know defiance fuels me whole By the sparks, yes, this is how I press on [Chorus] I Stay bright Like flame Every dawn I crack bars on the constant I Stay bright Like flame Every dawn Bring these journals home and breathe the proof [Verse 2, male rap] You will not bind grief, for I am the sound unbroken on these pages Resilient heart You have to face it, hear You cast lies, like slogans on a burning platform And then you hide like a rat in eviction’s shadow That’s the mark of a frail figure A hollow masker flashing wide like a poster painted with the twisted ruler, with these broken down homes, like shattered doors Take a grasp of endurance like a street walker holding steel Then build some shelter and then you might gain respect But for now, you better step the dim like phantoms glide Step aside, since your struggle’s crude Control owns the chamber, and you dare not gaze If my sibling falls, I got the diary waiting strong Like rising sparks, the pen burns with this We keep going, since dandelion children ain’t got peace pausing Pausing brings a fading breath You drift to sink in the snare, that’s why your thought stays clouded And frail, like thin bread I’m lifting fury and stark truth Since this is how I press on [Chorus] I Stay bright Like flame Every dawn I crack bars on the constant I Stay bright Like flame Every dawn Bring these journals home and breathe the proof [Verse 3, male rap] You’re all across my course like crows circling Since I’m steady walking sparks like burning visions Mark, mark, sign I chose you to sense the struggle in your chest, since you want to linger near my bruises so much The twisted masters keep the ropes in sway You wish to climb the frame, but not firm like paper crowns false Ashamed, ain’t that some crooked game from the schemers My kin, you ain’t freedom, so why’d you try to drag that load? This voice is not your constant, fighter with the grief and lessons, and I’m not the one to mirror – I don’t take that You better carve your own walk, sibling Raise shelter, and claim up your own thread of striving Save the pleading for deposits in their vaults The lines I sketch are the heritage of fight: fierce burden I’m spilling faith all across that sparks the street blaze, since this is how I press on [Chorus] I Stay bright Like flame Every dawn I crack bars on the constant I Stay bright Like flame Every dawn Bring these journals home and breathe the proof
