(Verse 1)
I lit a candle for the ones who ain’t return
Every name a whisper in the ashes when they burn
Used to laugh until we choked on summer air
Now it’s silence in the photos, ain’t nobody there
We were gods once, young and full of sin
Told ourselves we’d never die, but the reaper always wins
First it was Marcus, then Eli, then Dre
Buried more brothers than memories I can save
I still see Troy, laughin’ under streetlights
Now he’s just a shadow in my rearview nights
Joe had plans, said he’d never fold
But dreams don’t mean sh*t when the world turns cold
Jaimie had a smile that could kill the dark
Now it’s just candles and chalk on the park
Lawrence was a fighter, had that fire in his chest
But life don’t care who tried their best
I wear their names like chains on my soul
A burden, a bond, a weight I can’t control
Sometimes I wonder why I’m still breathin’
Like death’s just waitin’ for a better season
I don’t run from it—I just stare it down
In every cracked mirror in this hollow town
Sayin’ “Maybe I’m next,” but not like a prayer
Just a fact, like the rot in the midnight air
(Soft, haunted delivery—almost spoken)
Troy, Joe, Jaimie, Lawrence… I ain’t forgot
You’re the silence in my chest when the world won’t stop
You left too soon, now I walk your path
With a head full of ghosts and a heart full of wrath
(Chorus)
I’m next in line, I can feel it in my bones
Every night I sleep like it’s a headstone
Reality hittin’ like a crash, full speed
You never know the moment that your lungs might freeze
Blood on my hands, but it’s not my crime
They just vanished with the tick of time
Ain’t no answers when the casket shuts
Just the echo of their voice when the world goes hush
(Verse 2)
Used to ride deep, now I ride alone
Too many ghost seats in my zone
Heard Mike took a bullet, tryna make rent
And Dee OD’d, said the high felt like ascent
Moms cried rivers, pops drank seas
Now I’m scared to pick up when the phone screams
Can’t even cry, my tears feel fake
Just dry sobs and a mind that breaks
Clock ticking louder with every year
Death don’t text back, it just appears
And I wonder when my number shows
If I’ll see it comin’ or if the curtain just goes
(Bridge)
I don’t sleep, I just stare at the wall
Seein’ faces in the plaster, hearin’ names they call
Heartbeat skippin’ like a record gone wrong
Every breath feel borrowed, don’t know how long
(Chorus)
I’m next in line, I can feel it in my skin
Like a draft in a room you ain’t never let in
Time’s a thief, and life’s the debt
We all pay when the sky turns red
No farewell, no slow goodbye
Just a flash, and then you die
So I pour one out, then one more sip
For every soul that death had gripped
(Outro – whispered/screamed)
Tell my boys I’m still holdin’ on
But this life feels like a ticking bomb
One blink, and it all goes black
If I don’t wake up… don’t wait for me to come back
ReapEternal
