Once there were bells in the morning air Coins rang true, and the roads were fair Stone by stone the years stood tall Names were carved, we knew them all Windows glowed with borrowed pride Promises kept, or implied Hands were shaken, ink still dried On vows we thought the years would guide But the clocks grew thin And the words wore out The maps stayed still While the ground fell south ⸻ Raven on the wire, counting every mile Watching sons and daughters leave in single file Feathers black with unpaid dues Croaking truths no one will choose Nevermore the open door Nevermore the common floor ⸻ Ledgers fattened, voices shrank Bridges bowed but no one thanked Every season cost us more To stand still where we stood before Rent rose like a faithful tide Taxes climbed, the cracks went wide We patched the walls with borrowed time Called it order, called it fine The ears were shut The rooms were warm Above the flood They rode the storm ⸻ Raven on the wire, scratching out the years Counting empty houses, uncollected tears Feathers heavy, wings unsure Still they preach the final cure Nevermore the honest scale Nevermore the shared rail ⸻ Candles flicker in marble halls Echoes answer scripted calls Gold-leaf tongues speak careful lies While the street learns how hope dies Ships unmoor at break of dawn Not in rage, just quietly gone No drums beat, no flags unfurled Just passports closing on a world ⸻ Who listens when the numbers cry When living costs more than the lie Who answers when the crowd grows thin And silence learns to settle in ⸻ Raven on the wire, older now than before Still asking what we’re paying for Not with fire, not with blame Just names erased from the frame Nevermore the borrowed grace Nevermore the common place ⸻ So the bird stays put, the sky still wide Watching exits, counting tide Not prophesy, not threat, not roar Just one word left Nevermore
