Dawn on the Corner

[Intro] Dusty streets hum with neon and rain; the clock keeps tally on the pain Footsteps echo, secrets spill like glass on concrete lanes [Verse 1] In the alleys where the plywood posters fade, a mother counts the meals Her son wears the weight of yesterday, eyes searching for something real A kid with a badge on his chest of doubt, a dream he won’t reveal We guard our choices like a fragile crown, afraid the morning will reveal [Pre-Chorus] Cold trails of sirens draw lines in the air Two hands shake, one prayers, one despair [Chorus] We strip the night of its glow, to keep the truth around the corner We pay the price in echoes of names we borrowed If tomorrow’s a ledger, we’re counting what we owe, not what we own longing for a different dawn we’ll never outgrow [Verse 2] A father trades his hasty courage for a quiet, hollow pay He tells his daughter stories of trains that never come this way The streetlight hums like a tired choir, teaching each child to brace for sway The consequences sit in the ribs of those who stay, and never walk away [Pre-Chorus] Glass on the pavement mirrors a frightened face A vow whispered softly, a life replaced [Chorus] We strip the night of its glow, to keep the truth around the corner We pay the price in echoes of names we borrowed If tomorrow’s a ledger, we’re counting what we owe, not what we own longing for a different dawn we’ll never outgrow [Bridge] Maybe the map is worn, but the dream is not erased A grandmother’s lullaby in a doorway, a shield against the chase If mercy could rise from the rubble, we’d learn to choose a safer way But mercy is a tremor that only voices brave can raise [Chorus] We strip the night of its glow, to keep the truth around the corner We pay the price in echoes of names we borrowed If tomorrow’s a ledger, we’re counting what we owe, not what we own longing for a different dawn we’ll never outgrow [Outro] Grounded hearts, under a sky that keeps its secrets close We hold the line between what scars us and what hope that grows