Never Touch the Ropes

Wrapped my hands in the locker room, tape biting my knuckles, mirror in the corner catching my grin while I bounce on the painted floor, coach says keep my chin tucked, I keep my eyes on the man in front of me, crowd above us roaring like a storm in a tin roof, bell still hanging there like a dare, and I’m walking out calm with my heart in a cage and my feet already speaking in circles

I don’t flinch, I don’t fold, I came too far to freeze, every step in the lane feels clean, every breath says please

Hit, hit, don’t stop, make the whole room shake, one more, one more, watch the canvas break, boom, boom, I’m here, I’m here to stay, step in, step in, better move away

He swings big trying to scare me, but I’m reading the shoulders, counting the rhythm in the hips, slipping past a right hand that cuts air where my face used to be, I answer with a clean left to the body, then a quick right upstairs, sweat starts flying off the brow like rain off a tin awning, and every round I’m colder, sharper, meaner with the work

I don’t blink, I don’t break, I came for the whole crown, every ounce in my veins says now, every ounce says now

Hit, hit, don’t stop, make the whole room shake, one more, one more, watch the canvas break, boom, boom, I’m here, I’m here to stay, step in, step in, better move away

Hands up, chin down, breathe through the fire, one count, two count, then I climb higher, my name on the mouth of the people in the stands, and I’m still moving, still choosing, still standing

Hit, hit, don’t stop, make the whole room shake, one more, one more, watch the canvas break, boom, boom, I’m here, I’m here to stay, step in, step in, better move away, hit, hit, don’t stop, I was built for the day, one more, one more, watch ’em give way, boom, boom, I’m here, I’m here to stay, step in, step in, never touch the ropes