Glass Jaw

[Verse 1]
The needle on that Stax 45 is worn down to the bone.
You stand in the basement, freezing through your socks on the stone.
Trying to catch the grain in her voice, that particular wail,
but your throat just seizes up tight, a coiled and useless nail.

[Chorus]
Careful with that glass jaw, girl.
Careful how you let the pretty thing break.
It’s the one part of you that never learned to take the ache.

[Verse 2]
Pops always warned you, “Power’s in the wind-up, not the hit.”
But that third week in November, you just want to be done with it.
You’re still guarding your chin when you should be opening your chest,
Treating every melody like it’s some kind of final test.

[Bridge]
So you let the note splinter, just let the ugly in.
And for one damn second, the ringing bell goes thin.

[Chorus]
Careful with that glass jaw, girl.
Careful how you let the pretty thing break.
It’s the one part of you that never learned to take the ache.

[Outro]
(…3-5 second silence…)

Alright. Round two.