I Am the Rule

Verse 1 I don’t knock when I arrive Your pulse already knows my name Every door unlocks itself Every prayer sounds the same You build your paper kingdoms Stacked on borrowed breath I count your days in heartbeats I sign them off with death Pre-Chorus Silver smile, ceremonial Cold hands on your fate You worship what you fear the most And I don’t make you wait (whisper) Stay still… I’ve already decided. Chorus I am the rule The law beneath your skin The quiet in the room Where all your sins begin I don’t chase — I appear I don’t beg — I choose You live because I will it You lose because I choose I am the rule. Verse 2 Streetlights bow their heads to me Sirens soften into choir Every guarded secret thought Leans toward my desire Your lovers swear forever Your leaders make their deals But every oath you’ve ever sworn Is something that I seal (whisper) You never had control… You only had permission. Pre-Chorus Gold signet, patient grin Crown heavy with the night You cling to fragile hope I feed on borrowed light Chorus I am the rule The verdict in your veins The stillness after chaos The pleasure edged with chains I don’t fade with the dawn I don’t break — I endure You exist at my discretion I am the rule. Bridge No reflection in the mirror No mercy in my wake Your bravest declarations Are the promises I break You call it fate, coincidence You call it cruel design But every road you wander down Was mapped out to be mine (whisper, layered) Look at me… Kneel for me… Breathe for me… Good. Final Chorus (bigger, darker) I am the rule The hunger dressed in black The echo in your chest The point of no way back I don’t ask for loyalty I don’t need your approval You rise and fall in sequence And I — I am the rule. (final whisper) Say it like a prayer.