The Rope Doesn't Break

No road.
No signal.
No one coming.
Just the rope.
Just the line.
Just us.
Whiteout eating up the ridge
Sky gone flat
Hands gone stiff
Breath gone black
One man slips
and the whole
line feels it
No fake brave
when the cold
gets real quick
I don't need loud
I don't need known
I need one good hand
when the wind cuts bone
Tie that knot
pull that weight
Storm don't care
what a mouthpiece says
No crown up here
no throne survives
Just frost on the lashes
and bloodshot eyes
Big men talk
then the weather talks back
Quiet ones move
with a brother
on their back
Feel that pull
that means live
Feel that strain
that means climb
Don't let go
don't look down
The rope is law
when the white comes down
Hold the rope
Hold the line
If one slips
We all climb
No lone wolf
No fake crown
The rope doesn't break
When the storm comes down
Hold the rope
Hold the line
Your hand on mine
My hand on mine
No lost names
No man drowned
The rope doesn't break
When the storm comes down
I seen cold make kings
turn small in the face
I seen poor men pull
like machines with grace
Welders,
riggers
loggers,
vets
Men with bills
and a boot on debt
No spotlight
no polished speech
Just cracked hands
with a brother in reach
That's my church
That's my code
You don't walk free
while your people fold
Metronome stepper
one two pace
Storm in my ribs
but it won't touch face
North Star buried
still aimed right
If I can't see home
then I become sight
Feel that pull
that means live
Feel that strain
that means climb
Don't let go
don't look down
The rope is law
when the white comes down
Hold the rope
Hold the line
If one slips
We all climb
No lone wolf
No fake crown
The rope doesn't break
When the storm comes down
Hold the rope
Hold the line
Your hand on mine
My hand on mine
No lost names
No man drowned
The rope doesn't break
When the storm comes down
A tyrant stands above men.
A brother stands beside them.
A coward cuts the rope.
A real one
ties it tighter.
I don't want a throne.
I don't want a name.
I want the
whole line breathing
when we walk out
of the frame.
Tie it tight
Pull it back
Tie it tight
Pull it back
One hand slips
Ten hands grab
Tie it tight
Pull it back
Hold the rope
Hold the line
If one slips
We all climb
No lone wolf
No fake crown
The rope doesn't break
When the storm comes down
Hold the rope
Hold the line
Your hand on mine
My hand on mine
No lost names
No man drowned
The rope doesn't break
When the storm comes down
Storm passed.
Line held.
Count the hands.
Nobody walks alone.