LOOSE THREAD

[Verse 1]
The bell on the door don't sing, it just rattles.
3:17 AM, the freezer case hums a single cold note.
He walks in, shoulders tight, a knot in a new winter coat.
Too young for the lines that are etched by his eyes, I seen that story remote-
ly before, now it's close, just a flicker of hope that I pray stays afloat.
Heard his pops is a deacon, his mother from Accra, she weaves in the market,
And he's pullin' a thread from the cloth they both started, a whole different target.
I keep stackin' the Cokes, my face is a mask of polite and impartial.

[Pre-Chorus]
He puts down a bottle of something that burns, a black mask from the bargain bin aisle...
He ain't meetin' my gaze, just a ghost of a smile...
And I'm countin' the seconds by breaths, the security camera's a witness in style...
Just another entry to file...

[Chorus]
Another loose thread in the dark, 'bout to unravel it all.
Yeah, another young king wearin' death for a crown 'fore he learn how to crawl.
I see the whole pattern laid out from the start to the chalk and the fall.
Just nod and I bag it, I can't even say nothin' at all.

[Verse 2]
I remember him runnin' through sprinklers on Flatlands, all laugh and scuffed knees,
Now he moves with the weight of a hundred degrees, but the block's got a permanent freeze.
He's tryna patch up a problem with holes, it's a patchwork of vengeance and greed,
He's the son of a prayer, but he's plantin' a poisonous seed.
And my father would say “dieu te voit,” but what god is watchin' Canarsie?
When the options are woven so sparsely, and the consequences hit you so harshly.
He mumbles, "'Just this, unc,'" a voice that's all cracked in the grain.
I see my own reflection, distorted and warped by the cold window pane.

[Bridge]
At home, there's a mask on the wall, carved of wood, tells a story of pride.
He just bought one of cotton and dread, with a future he's trying to hide.

[Outro]
The bell on the door don't sing, it just rattles.