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Spoken version
A recorded reading of “Hold The Line”. If the player does not load, use the original audio source.
Receipt curls; breath ghosts the air—fine. Keys tug like small blades; I carry them anyway. Hope is hacksaw, tape, and stubborn wrists. Count two—cut—stand. If the margin shifts, I redraw thicker. Shoulders up, signal steady: present, accounted for, pulse named.
Alternative version
Neon ATM breath; a receipt curls in bitter light. Key between my fingers, shoulders set. Hold— the line when night rewrites my mind. Say my name; spine high. If the dark wants me, it can try.
Lyrics
(Oh—) Neon ATM, my breath in white, Receipt curls in the bitter light. Taxi splashes, radio low, City’s a tunnel, I let it go. Key in my fist like a tiny blade, Old fears talking, underpaid. I don’t need calm, I don’t need safe— I need my name in a louder place. I’ve been building hope from scraps, Little wins in hidden gaps. If the world says “wait your turn,” I strike a match and I let it burn. My hands shake, but they don’t drop, If I’m scared, I don’t stop. Count to two, then cut the air— I’ll be standing right there. Hold— Hold the line, Hold it tight, When the night tries to rewrite my mind. I hold the line, Hear that fight, I’m still here and I’m still alive. Hold the line, Shoulders high, If the dark wants me, it can try. (Whoa-oh-oh) I won’t decline, (Whoa-oh-oh) I hold the line. Dead screen glow, but I know the way, Blue-light maps to a brighter day. Lift doors open, metal choir, Heartbeat thumps like a livewire. You call my name through the static hiss, Like “don’t go soft, don’t you quit.” I take that voice like a second spine, Straighten up and I hold the line. No more shrinking in borrowed rooms, No more choking on “someday” fumes. If the doubt comes back for mine, I lock the door and I hold the line. My hands shake, but they don’t drop, If I’m scared, I don’t stop. Count to two, then cut the air— I’ll be standing right there. Say— my— name— Hold the line, Hold it tight, When the night tries to rewrite my mind. I hold the line, Hear that fight, I’m still here and I’m still alive. Hold the line, Shoulders high, If the dark wants me, it can try. (Whoa-oh-oh) I won’t decline, (Whoa-oh-oh) I hold the line. Say my name, Let it ring, In the quiet, I begin. I won’t fade, I won’t fold, I’m the spark In the cold. Now— Hold the line, Hold it tight, When the night tries to rewrite my mind. I hold the line, Hear that fight, I’m still here and I’m still alive. [Lead] Hold the— [BVs] LINE! [Lead] Hold it— [BVs] TIGHT!
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