Rainwashed Freeway Blues

(ahhhh) windows drip on the avenue

same old saints in a different blue

Rain on the windshield,

liquor store glare on the chrome Freeway columns hum while the lost

ones drift back home Hoodie full of paint caps,

notebook full of broken vows We learned codes in alleys,

not from suits or classrooms now Posted flyers by the doorway,

cramped room, incense in the air Cheap mic,

cracked preamp, whole future hanging there Honda rolling stolen,

young rage under tired eyes I was raised by sirens,

murals, and my mother praying nights Some fools talk loyalty till the

cuffs and pressure land Then they fold like wet paper,

leave your blood on concrete plans I still carry every lesson like

a burn across the chest Barrio gave me iron lungs and panic

living in my flesh

Rain keeps writing on the glass Names we lost keep drifting past

Hold me through the siren glow

I know, I know Ride slow through the night,

through the rain, through the hurt All my ghosts on the dash,

all this pain in my shirt Still I sing for the blocks,

for the names in the wall

If I fall, if I fall,

let the city

hear it all

Warehouse parties, bad wiring,

sweat hanging from the beams Every cipher felt sacred,

every sixteen carried dreams Graffiti crews in the stairwell,

markers stained on both hands

One eye on rival sets,

one eye still chasing grand plans I seen talent get buried under

envy, debt, and pride Seen a brother sell his gift just to

keep the heat outside Knitting-room memories,

hand stamps, cables, smoke,

and delay Promoters yelling set times while the whole room shook our

way I got elders in my spirit and young pain in my

jaw So the verse comes half sermon,

half revenge, half raw law When the beat bends sideways I attack

then drag it back Slow pocket,

then I sprint, leave the truth across the track Mama said the

night takes more than it shows I wore that fear anywhere that

I go

Under the tough talk,

wounds still breathe

Still I believe, still I believe Ride slow through the night,

through the rain, through the hurt All my ghosts on the dash,

all this pain in my shirt Still I sing for the blocks,

for the names in the wall If I fall,

if I fall, let the city

hear it all (ooh)

Rain on the boulevard

We are still here