[Verse 1] Barefoot in the spirit Feeding scavengers in my yard Half a crust on a paper plate Moon stuck low and hard Possible possum spirit animal Fifty teeth and a quiet stare Plays dead like it’s a prayer Breath held in the summer air [Chorus] Not the burning rat in the dream Not the static in my legs at night No one’s owed a moment of peace Still I’m waiting for the scales to write Their crooked math across the sky Stubborn Sentimental belief If I stand here long enough The world will balance its own grief [Verse 2] You shuffle from the shadows Mask of mud and streetlight glare Ribs like bent piano keys But there’s a slow grace there You take what the day forgot Scraps and seeds from my open hand You don’t ask if it’s enough You just trust whatever lands [Chorus] Not the burning rat in the dream Not the static in my legs at night No one’s owed a moment of peace Still I’m waiting for the scales to write Their crooked math across the sky Stubborn Sentimental belief If I stand here long enough The world will balance its own grief [Bridge] Maybe mercy’s just this moment Just this yard Just this ground (oh) You pretend you’re gone already Till the danger dies down I pretend I’m tougher than I am Till the heartbeat slows Two small ghosts in the clover Learning how to let things go [Chorus] Not the burning rat in the dream Not the static in my legs at night No one’s owed a moment of peace Still I’m waiting for the scales to write Their crooked math across the sky Stubborn Sentimental belief If I stand here long enough The world will balance its own grief [Outro] Barefoot in the spirit Breath fog on the dark You vanish through the lattice I’m still guarding this spark [soft flute echoes the last vocal line]
