CHIME by DessaĀ Lyric Starters
Change pronouns and titles, adapt dialect accordingly.
āI donāt let nobody smoke in here.ā āI donāt like the quiet, thatās why you got invited.ā āThey used to know me here.ā āHavenāt used that name in years.ā āFaith is a hammer with a book for a handle.ā āPeople in power can edit the past.ā āStanding on my staircase, all you are is a fire hazard.ā āSee how an honest answer shuts down motherfuckers asking trick questions.ā āIām out here, arms wide, hiding nothing.ā āIām the phoenix and the ash.ā āHeat finds a way to rise somehow.ā āI donāt need an agenda; I just tell the truth.ā āI got an octave on you and a high kick.ā āI donāt win them all but Iād say I take five out of six.ā āClockās running, better glove up.ā āI brought a chisel tip to this pencil fight.ā āNo luck, just fortified dice.ā āIāve been Wendy, living with the Lost Boys.ā āGot confused if it was from or to that we were running.ā āA woman on her own must be from out of town.ā āFunny, you donāt know the concessions that youāre making until you catalog em and by then theyāre many and youāre battle-hardened.ā āIām here to file my report as the vixen of the wolf pack.ā āTell Patient Zero he can have his rib back.ā āYou canāt be too broke to break.ā āAngels canāt watch everybody all the time.ā āThat formula works if you can live it, but it works by putting half the world off limits.ā āI think a womanās worth ā I think that she deserves ā a better line of work than motherfucking vigilance.ā āBy definition you canāt make a difference if the big ambition is simply standing sentry to your innocence.ā āWhat that is is just a life of running fire drills.ā āI donāt believe my willās quite free.ā āSometimes I ring myself to see if I might chime.ā āThey say thereās good grief but how can you tell it from the bad?ā āGood griefās the one thatās in your past.ā āTime has a funny kind of violence.ā āGood grief: Iāve heard people say it. What a phrase, what a state to be in.ā āNot much for praying.ā āI do my own stunts and my own saving.ā āThis time my best wasnāt good enough.ā āIām willing to work for this.ā āIām ready to hurt for this.ā āI want that good grief, the one that heals me.ā āSecrets donāt like to be kept.ā āIāve been afraid of this so long itās a relief when it goes wrong.ā āI still fall so easily.ā āI got foolish, dreaming on a future with you. Like some amateur.ā āIf Iām strong enough to handle this.ā āYouāre wrong to leave so soon.ā āCanāt you just let me call it a crush?ā āIt wasnāt enough, now was it?ā āIām high strung.ā āTalk real fast when I get nervous.ā āIāve been as bad as good girls get.ā āI donāt regret too much just yet.ā āI mostly gave more than I got.ā āThey say that your heart is the size of your fist ā I can tell you first hand I know how that glove fits.Ā It takes your whole life just to teach it two tricks: itĀ beats and it attacks.ā āYou live your life between contractions.ā āWhat if I could cure me of you?ā āMaybe Iām happier with half of you than Iād be with clean but empty rooms.ā āIām still the mark you missed.ā āI canāt remove the screws of my own youth.ā āIād spar another round.ā āLooks like I won again.ā āIām not so sure this is the good fight anymore.ā āI donāt let go.ā āI donāt give in.ā āI donāt bow, I donāt bend.ā āI wonāt say no.ā āI wonāt say when.ā āI fold for no one.ā āI always win.ā āSay when.ā āPoured a little bourbon out for you.ā āI know I should feel lucky but Iām just feeling spent.ā āLast thing you said was youād be watching out for me and we both know that I donāt believe that to be true.ā āI keep your diamond ring on my necklace.ā āI don't keep much close to my chest.ā āI hope Iām wrong.ā






















