Mercy Has Teeth

Mercy ain't soft.
Mercy ain't weak.
Mercy is teeth
that choose not to bite.
I keep my hands
where the line can see
One on the tether
One on the beast
I know what rage wants
I know its prayer
It wants a clean reason
to sit in the chair
It wants the room quiet
It wants the last word
It wants men buried
before they are heard
But I been too close
to the crown inside
Seen good men vanish
behind justified eyes
So I breathe once slow
and I count what's true
Not what I feel
Not what I could do
North Star low
but the aim stays right
Mercy has teeth
but it waits to bite
Hold your fire
Hold your name
Hold your line
Hold your aim
Storm in the chest
Ice in the hand
A dangerous man
must still be a man
Mercy has teeth
But it waits to bite
Not every shadow
Deserves the night
Mercy has teeth
But it knows its chain
Power without purpose
Is a lazy man's game
Mercy has teeth
But the leash stays tight
I don't need the throne
Just the North Star light
I seen wolves in suits
with their smiles polished clean
Sell death by paper
then sleep like kings
I seen street corner poison
turn sons into smoke
Lazy man's money
from a mother's broke hope
I seen laws bend
where the gold gets thick
Seen poor men buried
for a rich man's trick
So don't mistake calm
for an empty room
There's a storm in me
with a disciplined fuse
Metronome stepper
No rush,
no show
If I move,
I mean it
If I stop,
I know
Justice is heavy
Revenge runs cheap
Mercy has teeth
but it lets men breathe
Hold your fire
Hold your name
Hold your line
Hold your aim
Storm in the chest
Ice in the hand
A dangerous man
must still be a man
Mercy has teeth
But it waits to bite
Not every shadow
Deserves the night
Mercy has teeth
But it knows its chain
Power without purpose
Is a lazy man's game
Mercy has teeth
But the leash stays tight
I don't need the throne
Just the North Star light
Restraint is not surrender.
It is the last wall
between justice
and appetite.
A weapon does not decide.
A wound does not decide.
A crowd does not decide.
The line decides.
The code decides.
The tether decides
what kind of man
walks home.
Teeth closed
Eyes wide
Rope tight
No pride
Aim clean
No throne
Cold heart
Not stone
Teeth closed
Eyes wide
Rope tight
No pride
Mercy waits
Storm stays
North Star
Still guides
Mercy has teeth
But it waits to bite
Not every shadow
Deserves the night
Mercy has teeth
But it knows its chain
Power without purpose
Is a lazy man's game
Mercy has teeth
But the leash stays tight
I don't need the throne
Just the North Star light
Mercy ain't soft.
It's restraint
with a locked jaw.
Hold the tether.