Fault Lines & Flight Paths

History class felt rigged from jump

Names on the wall, but they crop out the blood

Old man on the bench said “kid, just read”

I opened up a page and it pointed at the flood

Marching boots, steel trains, ash in the air

Whole world swore “never, never again”

Then cameras cut, and the bombs got shipped

Just traded one ghetto for a fenced-off plain

Kids grow up under concrete skies

Prayers over rubble, dust in their eyes

Leaders argue over ancient lines

While the money moves quiet, right on time

I’m just tryna read between these headlines

Too many ghosts hiding in the bylines

Everybody talkin’ ‘bout the land and God

But who counts the bodies when the cameras stop?

I don’t know the truth, I just know the pain

Names on a wall, faces in the flame

If I ever get lost in the smoke and the spin

Pray I love people more than I trust men

Four planes, clear blue, one loud flash

Screen locked in, whole globe gasped

Flags came out, fear got sold

Every lost life turned into gold

Steel fell down, then the rights fell next

“Sign here, trust us, we’ll protect”

Wars on a map like a board game spread

Brown kids paid with their bones and breath

Whispers in the halls ‘bout who knew what

Who cashed checks when the deal got cut

They said “patriot,” they meant “sit still”

While they drew up plans on the Capitol Hill

I’m just tryna read between these headlines

Too many ghosts hiding in the bylines

Everybody talkin’ ‘bout the land and God

But who counts the bodies when the cameras stop?

I don’t know the truth, I just know the pain

Names on a wall, faces in the flame

If I ever get lost in the smoke and the spin

Pray I love people more than I trust men

Every flag got a graveyard shadow (shadow)

Every book got a burned-out page

If I pick a side, let it be the mothers

Screaming out names in the smoke and the haze

Can’t bring back what the fire once swallowed

Can’t clean hands with another kid’s tears

So I stand here, eyes on the hollow

Heart say “question,” love say “hear”

I’m just tryna read between these headlines

Too many ghosts hiding in the bylines

Everybody talkin’ ‘bout the land and God

But who counts the bodies when the cameras stop?

I don’t know the truth, I just know the pain

Names on a wall, faces in the flame

If I ever get lost in the smoke and the spin

Pray I love people more than I trust men