“Debt Paid in Blood”

“If you’re readin’ this…

the streets took me.

This ain’t an excuse —

this is my truth.

Mijos, my daughter, mi reina…

my last words.”

⸻

Mijos, if you’re hearin’ this, your Dad’s gone away,

The streets called in the debt I had to pay.

I wanted you to grow where the sun always shines,

But I gave my soul to darkness so you could have time.

I thought bein’ firme meant I carried the load,

But it led me to sangre spillin’ heavy on the road.

You’ll hear stories of your father, loco, stained in sin,

But I swear I fought battles to keep you all in.

Don’t follow these calles, don’t repeat what I done,

Be better than your father, don’t carry no gun.

Respect comes from love, not the sangre you shed,

I learned too late, now I’m speakin’ when I’m dead.

⸻

My daughter, you danced while I bled in the night,

Your laughter the flame that gave me light.

I watched you grow fast while I faded away,

My choices stole time I can’t repay.

I wanted to shield you from the devils I know,

So I stood in the fire, took the heat, took the blows.

If I never come home, just remember my eyes,

Every scar on my body was to silence their lies.

Don’t rush into womanhood, stay young while you can,

Don’t search for respect in the arms of a man.

Your Dad was a soldier, his war left him weak,

So I write you this letter with the last breath I speak.

⸻

My wife, mi reina, you carried my pain,

Through feria and blood, through struggle and rain.

I gave you my anger, you calmed down the flame,

Held me together when the streets played their game.

With you I could laugh, with you I could cry,

Never once did you look at your man with a lie.

I showed you my weakness, the tears I would hide,

But you never judged me, you stayed by my side.

You were the place where my soul could be free,

When the world called me devil, you still saw me as me.

That’s why it cuts deep as I write you this line,

Knowing I broke your heart while you carried mine.

⸻

The vatos I called brothers, the homies I fed,

Put balas in my back, left me bleeding instead.

The vida I committed, the oath that I swore,

Brought me to this coffin, can’t fight anymore.

They smiled at my table, they laughed in my home,

Now they toast to my death while my family’s alone.

A Judas with a handshake, betrayal with a grin,

It was blood on my name from the moment I sinned.

But don’t cry for my soul, don’t curse at the sky,

I knew what I was when I chose how to ride.

If my muerte buys safety, if my fall pays the cost,

Then my life wasn’t wasted, it was given, not lost.

So tell my Dad I tried to be strong till the end,

Tell my mijos I loved them, more than I can defend.

And to you, mi familia, let this letter explain,

The streets took my body, but my love will remain.

⸻

“No more tomorrows…

the streets raised me, they buried me.

Don’t cry for me —

live smart, live free.

My blood’s on the concrete,

my love stays forever.”