Rusted Spanish

[Verse 1]
The Saint Jude medal from first communion feels cold on my collarbone
I'm rehearsing the eulogy for a language I haven't killed yet, but I'll kill alone
The verbs are twisting open, rusted rebar in the rain
My own voice in my headphones is a different kind of static pain.

[Chorus]
(Second vocalist, airy)
Abuela, if you hear me past the Pink Line train's new screech,
Don't let me forget the one word that you died to teach.

[Verse 2]
Last Tuesday Mom said it, "Mija, you sound just like them now," a paper cut
My accent's peeling from the bone like cheap paint on a window frame that's stuck
I trace the words on shower steam, they disappear right on the glass
Another brick I didn't know was loose comes crumbling down too fast.

[Chorus]
(Second vocalist, joined by Vex in powerful harmony)
Abuela, if you hear me past the Pink Line train's new screech,
Don't let me forget the one word that you died to teach.

[Bridge]
(Music softens to K-ballad piano and strings)
Is this the silence that you warned me about?
The American dream is just a mouth full of doubt.

[Outro]
The word for 'home'.
The word is...