[Intro — spoken, dry] All rise. No one entered. Everyone was already here. [Verse 1 — defendant] Three-thirteen. The phone's a witness. The message waits beneath the glass. Above it, a name I never deleted Lights up once, and goes back dark. I did what I did. I said what I said. No objection. Let it pass. I used your silence as a wall, Then blamed you for the room. I watched one message grow its teeth And sent it where I knew it'd bruise. [Prosecution — spoken, dry, no melody, stacked] You knew. [Defendant — spoken, dry, no melody] I was angry. [Prosecution — spoken, dry, no melody, stacked] You knew enough. [Pre-Chorus] Bring the memory to the stand. Put the night beneath the light. Guilt came here to name one wound. Shame intends to name my life. [Chorus] All rise for the Court of Me. The verdict's older than the case. I call myself. I cross myself. Every witness wears my face. Guilty of the thing I did. Guilty of the things I might. The Court of Me convenes at dark. Every sentence is for life. [Verse 2 — evidence expands] Exhibit A is still beneath the glass. Exhibit B: a kitchen, 2019, One wrong word I still can hear. Exhibit C: a birthday left unanswered. Bring the missing years in here. Memory carries a little lantern And shines it only where I failed. Context is another word for alibi. Growth just means I've learned to hide it well. The mirror confirms the charge. The ceiling will corroborate. The room has heard me think before. The room is willing to relate. [Prosecution — spoken, dry, no melody, closer, more voices] Always. Always. Always. [Chorus] All rise for the Court of Me. The verdict's older than the case. I call myself. I cross myself. Every witness wears my face. Guilty of the thing I did. Guilty of the things I might. The Court of Me convenes at dark. Every sentence is for life. [Bridge — keyboard only] I write, "I'm sorry." Underneath it: "Make me clean." Even my apology is asking you To do one more thing for me. I know the speech for mercy. The judge wrote that one too. So I do not send it. For one clear second, that's restraint. [Prosecution — spoken, dry, no melody, immediate] Coward. [Defendant — spoken, dry, no melody] I know. [Prosecution — spoken, dry, no melody] Coward. [Defendant — spoken, dry, no melody] I know. [Build — spoken, roles begin merging, voices multiply not louder] Defendant. Prosecutor. Witness. Judge. Same voice. Same chair. Same name. [Final Chorus — all voices in cold unison] All rise for the Court of Me. The verdict's older than the case. I call myself. I cross myself. Every witness wears my face. Guilty of the thing I did. Guilty when I try to change. The Court of Me has no appeal. It only learns another name. [Outro — spoken, percussion gone] Save draft. Discard. I choose neither. The contact stays. The screen goes dark. The court adjourns at daylight. The judge sleeps in the walls.
