Worst Route through Cartagena

[Verse 1] The street hums with heat, sun blistered on old bricks Scooters whistle by; a gull fights the sea-sour wind Cartagena slips its map into my hands, rough and new Dust on the throat, diesel and rain mingling in the blue [Pre-Chorus] Footsteps echo lanes that never seem to end My pulse keeps time with the clatter of a city that won’t bend [Chorus] I walk the worst route, I walk through the fear and the glare I learn its teeth, I learn to breathe the salt in the air Through danger and doubt, I rise with a stubborn light Cartagena’s streets teach me how to survive the night [Verse 2] Market bells bite the air, peppers glow like coals A child laughs from a doorway, a mother counts the tolls I taste the copper rain, hear drums in a distant square Wayward prayers float up, stitched to a blue-black prayer [Pre-Chorus] Every corner holds a story, both mercy and grind I pace the rhythm of the harbor, steady and unconfined [Chorus] I walk the worst route, I walk through the fear and the glare I learn its teeth, I learn to breathe the salt in the air Through danger and doubt, I rise with a stubborn light Cartagena’s streets teach me how to survive the night [Bridge] If the map dissolves, I’ll trust the weathered sound Of waves against the quay, a compass I’ve found [Chorus] I walk the worst route, I walk through the fear and the glare I learn its teeth, I learn to breathe the salt in the air Through danger and doubt, I rise with a stubborn light Cartagena’s streets teach me how to survive the night [Outro] The city sighs awake, I fold my fears into the day Next corner promises a chance to breathe, to stay