Strap Line

Helmet's off.
Line's still there.
Jaw remembers
what the head won't wear.
Calm ain't quiet.
Calm got teeth.
Chinstrap carved
a road in my jaw.
Same place daily.
Body keeps law.
No helmet now.
Still feel the bind.
Old pressure sitting
at the back
of my mind.
I don't bite the world.
I don't bite back.
I bite down hard
where the old line sat.
Lights get thin.
Room gets tight.
Jaw locks shut
just to hold me right.
Chipped my own tooth
on a midnight clench.
Tongue split open
on a broken edge.
Copper all day.
Pink in the sink.
Swallow the rest
so I don't
have to think.
Swallow the rest.
Hold what's left.
Strap line.
Jaw stays tight.
Hold the whole war
behind my teeth all night.
Strap line.
That's the price.
The grin wants out
but I grind
it down twice.
Strap line.
No clean sign.
Pain in the mouth
keeps the ghosts in line.
That's why I clench.
That's where it goes.
Every word I never said
sits locked in rows.
Every hand I never raised.
Every door I didn't break.
Every mercy had a cost.
Every calm had weight.
Restraint ain't free.
Restraint leaves marks.
You pay in enamel.
You pay in the dark.
Mirror says smile.
I don't part my face.
Open this jaw
and the wrong thing wakes.
So I keep it shut.
So I keep it still.
So I grind down rage
into something I can feel.
Something real.
Something still.
Strap line.
Jaw stays tight.
Hold the whole war
behind my teeth all night.
Strap line.
That's the price.
The grin wants out
but I grind
it down twice.
Strap line.
No clean sign.
Pain in the mouth
keeps the ghosts in line.
They think calm is empty.
Calm is a clench.
Calm is sitting still
on the edge
of the bench.
Calm is copper.
Calm is bone.
Calm is knowing
what gets loose
when you're alone.
Strap line.
Jaw stays tight.
Hold the whole war
behind my teeth all night.
Strap line.
That's the price.
The grin wants out
but I grind
it down twice.
Strap line.
Still won't break.
Pain tells truth
when the mirror turns fake.
Strap line.
Still right here.
Copper in my mouth
but my mind stays clear.
Copper.
Swallow.
Hold.
Still here.
Jaw tight.
Line clear.
Still here.