My Native Language

[Verse 1 — chopped vocals, IDM drums]
You speak in riddles, I translate
Turn every want into a date
A thousand phrases understood
You circle one I rendered wrong

[Pre-Chorus — overlapping whispers]
My native language sounds so strange
I haven't spoken it in days

[Chorus — complex counterpoint]
Say it again (again, again)
I'll find the words and make amends
I know your language inside out
But mine is disappearing now
I'd close the book and burn the pages
Leave these sentences behind
But other voices need the meaning
And their futures intertwine
(What about mine? What about mine?)

[Verse 2 — staggered rhythm]
You want a promise in past tense
I rewrite what tomorrow meant

[Bridge — silence, solo vocal]
There's one small word I cannot say
It's simply "no," and it's in my way

[Outro — harmony dissolves]
I turn your silence into speech
My own words stay beyond my reach