A Haint Blue Dare

[Verse 1]
The gas lamps hum on Bay Street, third Thursday in July.
The air so thick with jasmine you could drown in the supply.
Susannah slips a gardenia behind her ear, a deliberate lie.
The silk is the color of a spirit-ward, a shade Cee-Cee claims is hers alone.
"'Just for tonight,' she breathes to the glass, 'I'm borrowing the throne.'"

[Chorus]
Oh, that's a haint blue dare in a crowded room.
A quiet little war fought with thread and with perfume.
Some roots grow so tangled, they only speak in bloom.

[Verse 2]
And here comes Cee-Cee, gliding through the heat from the cobblestone walk.
Eyes like polished river stones that measure every talk.
Her smile is a sweetgrass basket, tight-woven, hiding the shock.
She clocks the dress, a flicker in the eye, a sip of bourbon, slow and deep.
A lifetime of secrets the salt marsh air has promised it would keep.

[Bridge]
They learned it from their grandmamas, this algebra of grace.
How to plant a poison word and never show your face.

[Outro]
Susannah just nods once.
The dare is understood.