Unspoken Approval

They told me it was fine

My black friends said it was okay So I threw that line

around all day I wore their words like borrowed skin Never asked

what lived beneath it then

I wanted out from blame and heat A shortcut under my own

feet But comfort built on someone else's ache Turns honest talk into

a cheap mistake

One yes

ain't a pardon

One laugh don't clear the room

I hear the weight behind it

Too late to call it cool

You can't rent out pain and call it yours

You can't hide in somebody else's voice

I said it easy,

now it hits me hard

A careless mouth can leave a lasting mark

I thought permission meant the slate was clean Like context fades when

you are seen

But history don't fold that way for me It stays in bodies,

names, and memory So I sit still

and let the lesson land No borrowed pass,

no raised-up hand If respect is real it doesn't need disguise

It starts when ego looks itself in the eyes

I was wrong

That's the truth

No excuse

Just the proof

Learn the line

Hold it there

You can't rent out pain and call it yours

You can't hide in somebody else's voice

I said it easy,

now it hits me hard

A careless mouth can leave a lasting mark

I won't

say it now

I know better now

I won't wear that lie

again