SONGS FROM THE STORYSCAPE

Thunder on the tower Rain against the glass Wolves crying in the distance Like ghosts from the past Black sky splitting White fire in the wires I hear the old gods screaming And I reach a little higher They came with books and torches They came with chains and laws They came to call me wicked For touching sacred flame They said the sky was forbidden They said the spark was not for me They said the world has limits And a woman should agree But I have seen their mercy I have worn their little chains I have watched them call fear holy While they sharpened it with shame So I climbed into the stormlight With a spark they couldn’t kill If the gods won’t share the fire Then I guess I fucking will No permission No apology No trembling at the altar Of what I’m allowed to be Bolt by bolt Nerve by nerve I’ll build the kind of future That their fear does not deserve Modern Day Prometheus Lightning in my blood I stole the fire from Heaven And I called that fire love Modern Day Prometheus Raise the tower high If they built a world of limits Then I’ll make the limits die Modern Day Prometheus No chain, no grave, no throne I was not made for cages I was made to breach the unknown They called the creature monster Before she took a breath As if a life made different Already belonged to death They said, “Do not awaken What nature never planned” But nature is a liar When it speaks with frightened hands On the slab beneath the skylight Every scar became a seam Every part they tried to bury Started reaching for the dream Then the switch kissed down like thunder And the dark began to sing I saw her eyes fly open Like the birth of everything No more backwards doctrine No more frightened little laws No more men with dirty hands Pretending they are gods Spark by spark Bone by bone I’ll give the fire a body And a language of its own Modern Day Prometheus Lightning in my blood I stole the fire from Heaven And I called that fire love Modern Day Prometheus Raise the tower high If they built a world of limits Then I’ll make the limits die Modern Day Prometheus No chain, no grave, no throne I was not made for cages I was made to breach the unknown Maybe sacred means creation Maybe sin means uncontrolled Maybe every buried future Has a right to take its soul Maybe Heaven hates the lightning Because lightning does not kneel Maybe monsters are just people That the cowards made unreal I don’t want their perfect garden I don’t want their quiet grave I want every stolen body Standing up to say its name If they call the lightning wicked Let it strike me wide awake If they call my hunger monstrous Then watch what monsters make Pull the lever Raise the dead Light the wires Wake the spark Break the doctrine Crack the stone Make the forbidden Flesh and bone Fire in the tower Fire in my hands Fire for the nameless Fire for the damned Fire for the broken Fire for the scarred Fire for the ones they told Could never go that far She lives She lives Not by mercy Not by law She lives She lives With the lightning In her jaw She lives She lives Let the frightened village scream She lives She lives And she looks like me Modern Day Prometheus Lightning in my blood I stole the fire from Heaven And I called that fire love Modern Day Prometheus Raise the tower high If they built a world of limits Then I’ll make the limits die Modern Day Prometheus No chain, no grave, no throne I was not made for cages I was made to breach the unknown Modern Day Prometheus Let the old world burn Every spark they tried to bury Has a right to return Modern Day Prometheus Storm above, gates below I stole the fire from Heaven Now watch the future glow Thunder on the tower Rain against the glass Wolves crying in the distance Like ghosts from the past Black sky splitting White fire in the wires I hear the old gods screaming And I reach a little higher Modern Day Prometheus

Ave Lilith Apple red Moon black Serpent in the leaves Garden gate Gold chain They said, “Get on your knees” I heard her laughing Where the roses split First woman in the darkness With a match between her lips They wrote the story crooked Then called it holy law Said a woman should be grateful For the cage around her jaw They said, “Be sweet, be silent” They said, “Lower your eyes” They said, “Hunger is a sin, girl” So I learned to weaponize I saw the apple shining Like a heart beneath the skin I saw the teeth marks waiting Where the truth was breaking in And somewhere past the fig leaves Past the shame they tried to sell Lilith smiled like thunder And said, “Bite it straight to Hell” No more ribs No more dust No more pretty little fear No more hands around my throat Calling that love, calling that dear If the garden was a prison If obedience was the key Then I’ll break the lock with both hands And let the whole world see Ave Lilith Hail the woman who would not kneel Apple-red mouth And a spine made of steel Ave Lilith Let the garden learn my name I was born from no man’s shadow I was made of want and flame Ave Lilith Crown me wicked, call me free I won’t be your obedient Eve I’ll be the serpent and the tree Do not blame the woman For reaching toward the light Blame the hands that built a heaven Then told her not to bite Eve, come out of the story You don’t have to wear their shame They only call it falling When a woman learns her name We were never made for silence We were never made for chains We were never made to tremble At the sound of our own names So pass the fruit between us Let the juice run down our wrists If knowledge tastes like exile Then gods, I’ll die for this No more pure No more clean No more polished little lie No more virtue made of hunger No more wings afraid to fly If desire is a doorway If my body is the key Then I’ll open every locked room They were hiding me from me Ave Lilith Hail the woman who would not kneel Apple-red mouth And a spine made of steel Ave Lilith Let the garden learn my name I was born from no man’s shadow I was made of want and flame Ave Lilith Crown me wicked, call me free I won’t be your obedient Eve I’ll be the serpent and the tree Maybe sin was just a warning Written by a frightened hand Maybe Heaven hates a woman It can never understand Maybe Hell is full of sisters Who were tired of being good Maybe every burning circle Is a dance floor in the wood I don’t want your gentle pardon I don’t want your narrow grace I want lipstick on the chalice I want moonlight on my face I want girls with wild voices I want teeth and open doors I want every stolen hunger Singing, “Mine,” forevermore Call me serpent Call me flame Call me exile Call me shame Call me wicked Call me whore Call me everything You fear and more I am holy I am mine I am hunger I am divine I am wanting I am free I am Lilith Looking back at me Ave Lilith Hail the woman who would not kneel Apple-red mouth And a spine made of steel Ave Lilith Let the garden learn my name I was born from no man’s shadow I was made of want and flame Ave Lilith Crown me wicked, call me free I won’t be your obedient Eve I’ll be the serpent and the tree Ave Lilith No altar, no leash I will not be blessed Into something weak Ave Lilith Let the old gates fall If they call this damnation Then damn me with them all Apple red Moon black Serpent in the leaves Garden gate Gold chain I never learned to kneel Lilith laughing Eve awake One bite And the whole world breaks Ave Lilith

The fog came down like a curtain Wrapped the mast in gray Every bell went quiet Every sailor began to pray Ropes went slack at the railing Lanterns guttered out Something under black water Opened up its mouth The horn cried low and mournful Not from any shore And the old men crossed their fingers Like they’d heard that sound before Low in the fog Low in the bone She calls once And the sea calls home The crew heard a warning I heard a love song Something old as the ocean Singing her sickly-sweet psalm They heard wreckage in the distance I heard silk against my name They heard graves beneath the water I heard hunger dressed as flame Couldn’t tell if she was mercy Couldn’t tell if she was prayer Couldn’t tell if she would kiss me Or make me gasp for air Low in the fog Deep in the bone She calls once And the sea calls home Deepwater devotion Salt on my skin She called from the fog And I leaned right in Deepwater devotion Black tide, white foam If she opens her arms I am not coming home Deepwater devotion Voice under the waves If the deep wants my heart Let it take what it gave She rose behind the fog bank With no shape I could name Hair like moonlit shipwrecks Eyes that drowned the world A crown of dripping starlight A mouth of silver teeth She smiled like ancient weather And the ocean bowed beneath She was neither wreck nor rescue Neither mercy nor mistake She was every myth the shoreline Begged the dawn to never wake Low in the fog Close enough to know She calls once And my good sense goes Deepwater devotion Salt on my skin She called from the fog And I leaned right in Deepwater devotion Black tide, white foam If she opens her arms I am not coming home Deepwater devotion Voice under the waves If the deep wants my heart Let it take what it gave I know the map says turn back I know the gods say run I know the black deep keeps What it kisses once But I don’t want the lighthouse I don’t want the dawn I want the voice below me Telling me to come If fear is just a doorway If desire is the key Let her sing my name down Let her open me No safe harbor No dry land Just her song in the water And my heart in her hands Call her warning Call her grave Call her monster Call her wave I call her holy I cross the line Mouth of the tide Teeth of the divine Below the keel Beyond the bell Down where the dark Knows me well Sing me under Sing me deep Wake the thing I tried to keep Deepwater devotion Salt on my skin She called from the fog And I leaned right in Deepwater devotion Black tide, white foam If she opens her arms I am not coming home Deepwater devotion Voice under the waves If the deep wants my heart Let it take what it gave Deepwater devotion No star, no shore Just the sound of her wanting And me wanting more Deepwater devotion Let the black sea rise I saw the end in her smile And I still opened my eyes Low in the fog Low in the bone She calls once And the sea calls home Salt on my skin Hand on the rail I hear her laughing Through the veil She calls once I call back

Silver light Ribbon flame I hear her calling And I start to change Star-crossed Heart-struck The sky breaks open When she looks up I was just a girl in the city With a secret in my chest A little too loud for ordinary A little too hungry to rest Then she smiled like a sunrise Through the blue midnight air And every star above me Started burning everywhere Now my hands are full of moonlight Now my blood is full of song Now the dark can come and find me I have loved her for too long Let the monsters crowd the skyline Let the heavens split apart I have ribbons made of starlight And her name inside my heart I don’t need a kingdom I don’t need a throne I just need her laughing Like the moon is ours alone Say the word I’ll rise Gold fire In my eyes Moonlit oath Starlight in my blood I was born to burn for her In the name of love Moonlit oath Raise the silver blade Every star above us knows The promise that I made Moonlit oath Hearts across the sky I will fight the dark for her With moonfire in my eyes Moonlit oath Let the whole world see She does not need saving She just fights with me She has lipstick like a warning She has hands like destiny She makes every sacred planet Spin a little wild for me She’s the blush beneath my armor She’s the pulse beneath my spell She’s the reason I look holy While I’m raising all nine Hells I was never made for silence I was never built to kneel But I’d fall into her orbit Just to learn the way she feels So let the moonlight crown us Let the roses climb the blade I will kiss her in the starlit ruins Of the world we saved I don’t need permission I don’t need a sign I just need her fingers Reaching out for mine Say the word I’ll rise Gold fire In my eyes Moonlit oath Starlight in my blood I was born to burn for her In the name of love Moonlit oath Raise the silver blade Every star above us knows The promise that I made Moonlit oath Hearts across the sky I will fight the dark for her With moonfire in my eyes Moonlit oath Let the whole world see She does not need saving She just fights with me Maybe love is transformation Maybe want is sacred light Maybe every girl who trembles Gets a weapon in the night Maybe power looks like lipstick On a mouth that says her name Maybe destiny is choosing Who you burn for in the flame I don’t want the prince’s rescue I don’t want the tower key I want her hand against my heartbeat Saying, “Come and fight with me” And if the stars demand a champion If the moon requires a vow Then I will stand before the darkness And make my answer loud Ribbon by ribbon Star by star Kiss my knuckles Bless my scars Blade of silver Heart of gold Pretty girls Can still be bold Love is magic Love is war Love is what I’m fighting for Call the moon Raise the light She is mine I choose the fight Moonlit oath Starlight in my blood I was born to burn for her In the name of love Moonlit oath Raise the silver blade Every star above us knows The promise that I made Moonlit oath Hearts across the sky I will fight the dark for her With moonfire in my eyes Moonlit oath Let the whole world see She does not need saving She just fights with me Moonlit oath No shame, no disguise I can see forever When she looks into my eyes Moonlit oath Let the heavens sing Girls like us were always magic Girls like us have teeth Silver light Ribbon flame I hear her calling And I start to change Star-crossed Heart-struck The sky breaks open When she looks up

Red robes in the candlelight Sacred oil on my hands Incense in the circuits Smoke across the glass Something holy humming Underneath your skin I put my ear to the engine And listen to it sing You keep your silence bolted Behind a plated smile Prayer-runes on the lockbox Warning signs for miles They called you cold equipment A relic made of parts But every engine trembles When somebody learns its heart I don’t bring a hammer I don’t bring a crown I kneel beside the panel And turn the whole world down Let the old wound whisper Let the static start I know a sacred failure By the sound of missing sparks No command No claim No holy chain No hand on the lever No leash on the flame Just breath near the wiring Just heat in the dark A binary hymn For the machine in your heart Machine spirit Hidden in your heart I can hear you singing Through the static and the sparks Machine spirit Speak to me in flame I will learn your language I will whisper back your name Machine spirit Bless the wire, bless the scar Let me lay my hands On the engine that you are I learned your language slowly Not from doctrine, not from law But the tremor in your fingers And the way your breath gets caught Your pulse speaks in servo-clicks Your eyes in warning red Every little silence Says the thing you never said You don’t need absolution You don’t need to be made clean You need someone listening To the ghost inside the machine So let the candles flicker Let the pressure rise I’ll read the hidden gospel In the motion of your eyes No repair No rewrite No making you right No polished little altar No pretty little lie Just breath near the wiring Just heat in the dark A binary hymn For the machine in your heart Machine spirit Hidden in your heart I can hear you singing Through the static and the sparks Machine spirit Speak to me in flame I will learn your language I will whisper back your name Machine spirit Bless the wire, bless the scar Let me lay my hands On the engine that you are If love is communion Then I come with open hands Not to seize the altar Not to overwrite commands I won’t pray for silence I won’t burn away the ache I will learn the rhythm Of the beautiful machine you make If you speak in warning I will answer soft and low If you speak in thunder I will meet you in the glow No, I do not worship What they told you you should be I kneel before the hidden thing That only sings for me Seal by seal Spark by spark Show me where To touch the dark Rite by rite Wire by wire Bless the fault Feed the fire Speak in static Speak in heat Speak in pressure Speak in grief I am listening I am near Let the heart-machine Know I’m here Machine spirit Hidden in your heart I can hear you singing Through the static and the sparks Machine spirit Speak to me in flame I will learn your language I will whisper back your name Machine spirit Bless the wire, bless the scar Let me lay my hands On the engine that you are Machine spirit No command, no chain Just your voice in the current And my mouth on your name Machine spirit Let the old world fall apart I will sing the litany The litany of the heart Red robes in the candlelight Sacred oil on my hands Incense in the circuits Smoke across the glass Something holy humming Underneath your skin I put my ear to the engine And listen to it sing

Neon rain Black glass Static on the line Cold chrome Warm hands Your signal touches mine Neural Link Neural Link I built my body out of bad ideas Wired under skin Back-alley miracles And places no one gets in Wired for distance Running hot and running clean Then you smiled through the smoke And corrupted the routine I got black-market angels Soldered to my spine Cheap saints in my bloodstream And lightning in the line But you don’t look impressed By the sparks when they fly You look right through the armor Like you know where I hide Don’t call it rescue Don’t call it repair You put your hands on the circuit And the whole room flares You don’t make me softer You don’t make me tame You just touch the wire And every light says your name Neural link Under neon light Sync into my pulse Make the feedback sing Neural link Chrome under skin One touch to the circuit And I let you in Neural link Make the whole thing scream I was good before you Now I’m more than me Neural link Crawl inside my dream You don’t fix me, love You augment me I got kill-switches hidden Underneath my tongue Passwords I don’t speak And failsafes I don’t trust You asked what I wanted Like the answer wasn’t teeth Like I wasn’t all hunger Dressed up as circuitry You got soft hands And a hardwired stare Like you know I’m a disaster And you still want in there So come close, live wire Let the warning lights bloom I’ll make room in the system For the shape of you Don’t call it weakness Don’t call it care You sync with the static And I spark everywhere You don’t make me holy You don’t make me clean You touch the raw signal And make it sing Neural link Under neon light Sync into my pulse Make the feedback sing Neural link Chrome under skin One touch to the circuit And I let you in Neural link Make the whole thing scream I was good before you Now I’m more than me Neural link Crawl inside my dream You don’t fix me, love You augment me Signal Receive Static Make it sing Lockdown Breach Upgrade Only you There are ghosts in the machine That all answer to my name Little burned-out pieces That still know how to flame I used to call it damage I used to call it scar Now it hums when you touch it Like a second heart You don’t ask me to be smaller You don’t ask me to behave You just grin at the voltage Like you like me this way And gods, I could kiss you In the flicker and the steam For looking at the monster And saying, “More of that, please” I used to think affection Was a breach in the code A hand at the panel Where the red lights glow I used to cut the power Before anyone got through Then you came laughing Like the danger suited you No, you don’t own me No, you don’t save You jack into my link And shiver when the warnings wake No, you don’t complete me I was never half a thing You just find every back door And make the chrome sing Jack in Breathe out Black spark Burn loud Crosswire Hotline Blood rush Green light Break glass Cut feed Say yes Sync with me Signal Receive Static Make it sing Lockdown Breach Upgrade Only you You don’t fix me You don’t complete me You don’t rewrite me You read me clean You don’t tame me You don’t delete me You don’t make me human You make me more than me Neural Link Neural Link Neural link Under neon light Sync into my pulse Make the feedback sing Neural link Chrome under skin One touch to the circuit And I let you in Neural link Make the whole thing scream I was good before you Now I’m more than me Neural link Crawl inside my dream You don’t fix me, love You augment me Neural link No cure, no chain Just your hands in the static And my name in the flame Neural link Come alive in the stream You don’t fix me, love You augment me Neon rain Black glass Static on the line Cold chrome Warm hands Your signal touches mine Neural link

Red lights Sirens Smoke in the hall Bad odds Sharp grin I’m answering the call Hero Not the holy kind Hero But I’m right on time You don’t need a shining knight With a name carved clean You need a door kicked open And a hand through the steam You need someone laughing When the roof comes down Someone small, loud, dangerous With both boots on the ground I’m not built for halos I’m not dressed for grace I got blood on my jacket And a grin on my face But when the lights go red And the whole world shakes I’ll be the bad decision That keeps you safe Call me reckless Call me wrong Call me disaster All night long But if the walls start falling And the sky breaks through Just say my name, love I’ll come running to you I can be your hero Not the holy kind I’ll come loud, come hard Come just in time I can be your hero When the walls fall through Say the word, love And I’ll come for you I can be your hero With my hands on fire I’ll come through the wreckage For the girl I desire I can be your hero If you need me to Not the one they prayed for But the one who comes for you I don’t carry mercy Like a pretty white flag I carry sparks in my pockets And a knife in my laugh I don’t ask permission When the timer runs low I don’t wait for orders When I know where to go You can call me chaos You can call me a sin But I know how to break out And I know how to break in So if they lock the tower If they chain the gate I’ll kiss the fuse burning And call that fate Call me reckless Call me wrong Call me disaster All night long But if your voice comes shaking Through the static and blue Just say my name, love I’ll come running to you I can be your hero Not the holy kind I’ll come loud, come hard Come just in time I can be your hero When the walls fall through Say the word, love And I’ll come for you I can be your hero With my hands on fire I’ll come through the wreckage For the girl I desire I can be your hero If you need me to Not the one they prayed for But the one who comes for you Maybe I’m no legend Maybe I’m no saint Maybe I’m the warning That they tried to paint Maybe I’m the sharp thing Underneath the bed Maybe I’m the reason All their good girls fled But you don’t need a bedtime story When the monsters bite You need something worse, love On your side tonight So say my name once Through the smoke and the noise I’ll come in like thunder With the whole band deployed I know I’m not gentle When the alarms start screaming I know I don’t look like The kind worth believing But I can hold the line When the world goes black I can take the hit And still hit back I can be the spark I can be the shield I can be the last thing That refuses to yield And if I’m not the hero From the stories you knew Then let the stories burn, love I’m still coming for you Kick the door Cut the wire Break the lock Feed the fire Count to three Lose the plan Take my name Take my hand Too loud Still coming Too much Still here Too late Not tonight Too far Not from her I don’t need a crown I don’t need a vow I don’t need the world To like me now I just need the signal I just need the spark I just need your voice Calling from the dark If they wanted clean They should’ve called someone new If they wanted safe They should’ve stayed away from you Hero Not the holy kind Hero But I’m right on time I can be your hero Not the holy kind I’ll come loud, come hard Come just in time I can be your hero When the walls fall through Say the word, love And I’ll come for you I can be your hero With my hands on fire I’ll come through the wreckage For the girl I desire I can be your hero If you need me to Not the one they prayed for But the one who comes for you I can be your hero No halo, no throne Just a grin in the firelight And a way to get you there I can be your hero When the night breaks through Say my name like you mean it And I’ll come for you Red lights Sirens Smoke in the hall Bad odds Sharp grin I’m answering the call Your hero

System awake Pressure rise Red light bloom Behind my eyes Armor lock Engines start Target found Inside my heart Warning lights and pressure gauges Static in my chest I can take a direct hit standing But not you at your gentlest I know how to brace for impact How to breathe through overload How to keep my hands from shaking When the whole frame starts to groan I can hear the sirens singing I can feel the reactor strain But you ask if I am hurting And I forget how to play brave There are cracks beneath the plating There are faults beneath the steel You don’t even touch the armor You just reach underneath I built myself for battle Bolted every weakness down Welded shut the soft parts No one ever found But you move like mercy Through the smoke and steel And every locked compartment Starts remembering how to feel Soft targets Buried under chrome You found the fault line I thought I’d welded closed Soft targets Right under my guard No battlefield ever broke me Like your hands on my heart Soft targets Systems coming apart You don’t need a weapon When you know where to start I can read a threat display I can count incoming fire I can reroute every warning Through a mouth full of wire I can stand inside the thunder I can laugh through broken glass I can patch the bleeding circuitry And keep walking past But you say my name softly Like you know where it bends Like you found the hidden damage I forgot I had to mend And I hate how much I want it How it scares me to be seen Not as something built for ruin But as something still worth keeping I built myself for distance Made a fortress out of noise Turned every almost feeling Into static I could void But you don’t force the doorway You don’t pry the panel wide You just wait there in the quiet Till I open from inside Soft targets Buried under chrome You found the fault line I thought I’d welded closed Soft targets Right under my guard No battlefield ever broke me Like your hands on my heart Soft targets Systems coming apart You don’t need a weapon When you know where to start Breach Breach Not the armor Heat Heat In the core Fault Fault Under pressure More More Gods, I want more There’s a cockpit full of ghosts Every old alarm still screams Every time you get too close I wake up old escape routines Lock the hatch Cut the lights Kill the feed Survive the night But you look at me like morning Like the war is not my name Like the girl under the metal Isn’t something I should shame I don’t know how to stand here With no smoke to disappear I don’t know how to trust it When your kindness gets this near But I want to stop retreating I want to drop the knife I want to let you find me Still alive inside You didn’t need a warhead You didn’t need a knife You just looked at me softly And breached me from inside You didn’t need the coordinates You didn’t need the code You just saw the place I guarded And made it feel like home All this steel around me All this iron in my mouth All these years of standing fire Just to keep from reaching out But your voice in the darkness Cuts the engines clean And I don’t know if I’m failing Or finally being seen Run the scan Read the damage Mark the breach Seal the door Check the core Kill the signal Tell me what I’m shaking for Armor holds No, it doesn’t Systems green No, they’re not Target locked I can’t stop this Take the shot She already got She didn’t come in burning She didn’t come in loud She didn’t tear the walls down She just asked what I was scared about She didn’t break the cockpit She didn’t crack the frame She put one hand over my heartbeat And called me by my name Soft target Under the armor Soft target Under the scars Soft target Under the warning lights Under the war Under the war Under the war There was always a heart Soft targets Buried under chrome You found the fault line I thought I’d welded closed Soft targets Right under my guard No battlefield ever broke me Like your hands on my heart Soft targets Systems coming apart You don’t need a weapon When you know where to start Soft targets And I let down my guard No battlefield ever held me Like your hands on my heart System quiet Pressure low Red light dim Engines slow Armor open No alarms Just your hands On my heart Soft targets

Left, right Breathe Left, right Breathe Hold Hold She asks if I’m cold While the room goes warm Brushes dust from my sleeve Like a casual storm She laughs at my jokes Like she wants me to stay Then looks down too fast And looks right back my way I count all the exits I count all the signs I count every second Her eyes stay on mine Don’t make a promise Out of candlelight Don’t call it a signal Just because it feels right Was that a warning Or just her hand near mine Was that a doorway Or a trick of the light I tell my pulse, stand down I tell my mouth, stay smart But the drums start rolling In the dark of my heart Hold the line Left, right, breathe Don’t mistake her kindness For the thing you need Hold the line Don’t fall apart But she looks back once And the march begins in my heart Hold the line Stand your ground Don’t let one soft smile Bring the walls down Hold the line Don’t move too fast But she says my name And I break like glass She remembers small things That I thought I buried A song I liked once A story I told once And the way I worry She says, “You looked tired” Like she noticed the war Like she heard every footstep Behind my locked door And maybe she’s gentle Maybe that’s all Maybe she catches Everyone when they fall But when she leans closer And the whole world narrows Hope pulls the trigger And my heart take the round Was that a question Or just something kind Was that her meaning it Or my wanting mind I know how to wait I know how to burn I know every lesson The lonely ones learn But she smiles like a secret She touches like a spark And the drums start rolling In the dark of my heart Hold the line Left, right, breathe Don’t mistake her kindness For the thing you need Hold the line Don’t fall apart But she looks back once And the march begins in my heart Hold the line Stand your ground Don’t let one soft smile Bring the walls down Hold the line Don’t move too fast But she says my name And I break like glass Hold the line Hold the line I am trying Hold the line Hold the line She is smiling Left Right Hold the line Breathe Left Right Hold the line Please There’s a dangerous mercy In the almost said In the pause by the doorway In the turn of her head There’s a whole confession In the space between What she lets me notice And what it might mean I don’t want to corner I don’t want to chase I don’t want to build my hunger Into someone else’s place So I stand there steady With my heart in command While every drum inside me Keeps reaching for her hand All my armor Was made out of maybe All my orders Were made out of fear I have faced down thunder I have laughed at ruin But I lose formation When she stands too near There is no battlefield There is no blade Just a room gone quiet And the hope I’m afraid to name If she means nothing I can let this be But if she means something Gods, let her mean it to me Don’t read forever In a hand on your shoulder Don’t hear a vow In her asking you over Don’t make a future From a look that could pass Don’t let your heart charge first And call it brave after that Hold the line I am holding Hold the line I am breaking Stand your ground She is closer Do not break! I am shaking I can hold a doorway I can walk through fire I can bite down hard On the shape of desire I can keep my hands still I can swallow the sign I can want her quietly And call it holding the line Left, right Breathe Stand fast Please Left, right Stay Stand fast Say If she wants distance I will give her the sky If she wants nothing I will learn to survive But if she wants closer If she reaches in time Then let the drums break open Let my heart break line Hold the line Hold the line Left, right, breathe Don’t mistake her kindness For the thing you need Hold the line Don’t fall apart But she looks back once And the march begins in my heart Hold the line Stand your ground Don’t let one soft smile Bring the walls down Hold the line Don’t move too fast But she says, “Stay close” And I break like glass Hold the line Left, right, breathe Maybe it’s just kindness Maybe she means me Hold the line Gods, I tried But she takes my hand And the march begins inside Left, right Breathe Left, right Breathe I held the line As long as I could But she looked back And I came undone

They said hush I said louder They said shame I said power They said hide I said watch Lit the match And kicked it up a notch They come with little sermons And their cold little eyes Got rules for my body Got chains in disguise They call it protection When they mean control Put velvet on a cage And call it good for the soul They want blushes They want bowed heads They want clean sheets And separate beds They want every wild thing Tamed and afraid But I was not built To behave in the shade I know what yes sounds like I know what no means I know the holy difference Between want and greed So keep your old warnings Keep your hands off my skin I’m not your little sinner I’m the fire within I’m shameless Lit like a match in the dark Shameless All teeth, all heat, all heart If it’s wanted, if it’s wild If it leaves us both breathless I won’t kneel for your shame I was born shameless They clutch their pearls Till the string snaps clean Like joy is a threat Like hunger’s obscene They call us dangerous For dancing too close Call love a sickness Then prescribe us ghosts They want quiet mouths And obedient hands Want the heat turned down Till nobody can stand But I’ve seen what blooms When the fear comes off Whole rooms catch fire When the first girl laughs I don’t need permission To feel my own flame Don’t need a court full of cowards Putting locks on my name If she wants trouble And I want it too Then your little rules, sweetheart Aren’t invited to the room I’m shameless Lit like a match in the dark Shameless All teeth, all heat, all heart If it’s wanted, if it’s wild If it leaves us both breathless I won’t kneel for your shame I was born shameless Clutch your pearls Lock your doors I’ve heard this sermon before Bite your tongue Say your prayers I’ll be shameless in the glare They say good girls whisper They say bad girls burn They say want is a wound That a body must learn But I’ve kissed enough lightning To know what it’s worth There’s no sin in the thunder When it rolls through the earth There’s no shame in a love That knows how to ask No crime in a hunger That takes off its mask No filth in a laugh No stain in a spark No cage for the creatures Who sing in the dark So raise up the lights Let the whole room see Every scar, every want Every part of me Let the frightened ones point Let the bitter ones sneer I have loved too loud To be ruled by fear I have been the bad joke I have been the bad name I have been the whore They tried to smother with shame But shame is just smoke And smoke has to rise Now I wear what they whispered Like a crown in the light You called me dirty I made it glitter You called me wicked I made it loud You built a cage Out of panic and scripture I kicked the lock And played to the crowd Shame! Not mine Sin! Still mine Skin is holy Want is fire Hands only go Where hearts invite them Joy ain’t guilty Want ain’t a scar I won’t apologize For who we are All teeth All heat All heart Shameless I’m shameless Lit like a match in the dark Shameless I won’t feel guilty for making art If it’s wanted, if it’s wild If it leaves us both breathless I won’t kneel for your shame I was born shameless I’m shameless Lit like a match in the dark Shameless All teeth, all heat, all heart If it’s wanted, if it’s wild If it leaves us both breathless I won’t kneel for your shame I was born shameless Clutch your pearls Lock your doors I’ve heard this sermon before They said hush I said louder They said shame I said power Shameless

They wrote her name In candle smoke A warning dressed In teeth and throat They barred the doors They killed the lights Then wondered why We loved the night Carmilla They said lock the window They said guard your heart They said girls like her Know how to leave a mark They said she moves like fever They said she drinks you thin They said don’t trust the wanting When the wanting wears skin They made her all hunger They made her all teeth Like loving another woman Was a grave underneath But every whispered warning Every trembling lie Only taught me where to look When the dark went by They called her kiss corruption They called her hunger sin But every girl they warned me from Was where I wanted in They made the night sound dangerous They made the blood sound sweet They were scared of my love Before they saw my teeth Carmilla Say her name like a curse Like a girl wanting girls Was the end of the world Carmilla Make me the monster Say what you mean You were scared of my love Before you saw my teeth Carmilla Crown me in blame If loving her damns me Then hell has my name They wrote her in shadows With a mouth full of red Made a cautionary chapel Out of every girl’s bed They said she’ll ruin daughters They said she’ll poison blood They said she’ll make them want things No good woman should But I have seen the prison In a proper little life I have seen the silence Sharpened into knives So if she comes laughing Through the glass at midnight I won’t call that horror I’ll call that my rite You called it corruption When I called her mine You called it infection When she made me feel alive You dressed your fear as virtue You dressed your cage as peace Then blamed the open window When she learned the dark could breathe Carmilla Say her name like a curse Like a girl wanting girls Was the end of the world Carmilla Make me the monster Say what you mean You were scared of my love Before you saw my teeth Carmilla Crown me in blame If loving her damns me Then hell has my name Make me the monster Give me the night Give me the hunger You were too scared to write Make me the monster Let the choir scream Every girl you buried Is waking underneath They wrote her as a warning So girls would fear the dark But every monster story Starts with someone fearing a spark They called her soft hands wicked They called her red lips wrong But all their little terrors Couldn’t keep us scared for long You made her hunger filthy You made her softness bleed You made her love a sickness When it looked too much like need But every tale you poisoned Still taught us how to see The monster in your story Was the girl who wanted free So say the name Let it ring Let it crawl Let it sing Carmilla Lock the window Bar the door Good girls don’t go Looking for more But I heard her laughing Underneath your fear You said, “Keep away from her” Like that wasn’t why I’m here Monster Sinner Tempter Lover Mirror Hunger Teeth You made the dark sound sweeter Than the daylight ever seemed You made her kiss a nightmare So I learned how monsters dream Daughter Warning Silence Shame Not your daughter Not your warning Not your quiet Not your claim If wanting her is horror Then let the horror sing If loving her is monstrous Then make me what they see Carmilla Carmilla Say her name like a curse Like a girl wanting girls Was the end of the world Carmilla Make me the monster Say what you mean You were scared of my love Before you saw my teeth Carmilla Crown me in blame If loving her damns me Then hell has my name Carmilla Make me the monster Give me the night Give me the hunger You were too scared to write Carmilla Raise her from shame Every girl you buried Is singing her name Carmilla Carmilla They wrote her name In candle smoke A warning dressed In velvet and throat They barred the doors They killed the lights Then wondered why We loved the night Carmilla

Candle smoke Red light Soft hymn Sharp bite Hands clasped Head bowed Gods help Devils laugh Blasphemy Blasphemy She walks in quiet Like a chapel goes still Like the candles lean closer Just to learn her will Red eyes low With a dangerous shine Like a warning carved deep In a holy sign She looks at me once And the room forgets grace Every prayer in my mouth Starts losing its taste She says, “Careful, little spark” With that knife-edge smile I say, “Sweetheart, I’ve been damned For a while” I don’t need saving I don’t want clean I want the wrong kind of sacred And the sharp in between She says, “You shouldn’t” Like she wants me to try So I drop to my knees And I look her in the eye Pretty little blasphemy Red eyes in the candlelight You look like the kind of sin That I’m eager to let in Pretty little blasphemy Sharp teeth, soft command You’re my sinful little prayer And I’m down on my knees If the gods are watching Let them see us on our knees If this drags me through the Hells Pull the leash and lead She’s all silk shadow And a mouth like a vow Says my name like a sentence And I want it somehow Got a crown made of lust Got a spine made of pride Got the kind of cruel beauty That invites you inside I could be sensible I could run for the door But she tilts her head once And I need nothing more There’s a crack in the altar There’s a pulse in the stone And I like how she shivers Like she thinks we’re alone I don’t need mercy I don’t need light I want her teeth at my neck In the dead of the night She says, “Say please” Like an infernal decree And gods damn, honey That works on me Pretty little blasphemy Red eyes in the candlelight You look like the kind of sin That I’m eager to let in Pretty little blasphemy Sharp teeth, soft command You’re my sinful little prayer And I’m down on my knees If the gods are watching Let them see us on our knees If this drags me through the Hells Pull the leash and lead Call it wicked Call it wrong Call it one more filthy line In a sacred song Call it ruin Call it need Call it teeth at my throat And a reason to bleed I like the way she trembles When her pride slips loose Like a saint losing patience With a very good excuse I like the way she whispers When the dark gets deep Like she wants to be worshiped And her devotee to be me So let the candles gutter Let the choir scream Let the whole damn temple Fall into the dream I was never built for heavens I was never that sweet I found gods in my gasp When she pulled me to my feet Kneel down Look up Red wine I'm struck Soft mouth Sharp teeth Say please Don’t breathe Wrong prayer Right sin Let go Let in One kiss One plea Pretty little Blasphemy Pretty little blasphemy Red eyes in the candlelight You look like the kind of sin That I’m eager to let in Pretty little blasphemy Sharp teeth, soft command You’re my Sinful little prayer And I’m down on my knees If the gods are watching Let them see us on our knees If this drags me through the Hells Pull the leash and lead Pretty little blasphemy Red eyes in the candlelight You look like the kind of sin That I’m eager to let in Pretty little blasphemy Sharp teeth, soft command You’re my sinful little prayer Blasphemy Blasphemy Candle smoke Red light Soft hymn Sharp bite Pretty thing Infernal prayer Pull the leash Lead me there