Scroll Up

Don't learn it the way I learned it

Two a.m. on the microwave clock, I'm still at the counter
Chasing a number on a laptop screen, volume down
(one more email, one more trade)
The lamp clicks off down the hall — I said "one minute"
That was Tuesday... I think it's Friday now
(where did the week go? where did it go?)
The group chat's poppin' — her name sits three rows down
Brokers get me in seconds, but the one who prays for me, I leave on Read

That little heart on the message, still waitin' out

I used to write her novels, back when I had the time
Now I'm rich in every inbox, but I'm broke in hers tonight
If your phone been doin' my job, brother, change your mind—

Scroll up — if you don't believe me
(scroll up... scroll up)
Watch the paragraphs shrink down to a "K"
(down to a "K"... down to a "K")
Three dots lit the screen, then faded away
(she was typing... she was typing)
Answer her while she got somethin' to say

Six months later, the wire came through like I promised
House so quiet I can hear the fridge hum
(got everything... got nothin')
The charger's still in the wall on the left side of the bed
One side of the closet echoes when I slide it open
So I scroll like it's archaeology, thumbing through the ruins
March was sunrises in paragraphs — by June, "ok" and "fine"
(check the timestamps, brother... check the timestamps)
Seven-oh-two, she used to text first... the last "good morning" is mine

Everything I send's delivered, nothing's being received
All this blue light in my pocket, cold sheets underneath
If she's still across your kitchen, get up out your seat—

Scroll up — if you don't believe me
(scroll up... scroll up)
Watch the paragraphs shrink down to a "K"
(down to a "K"... down to a "K")
Three dots lit the screen, then faded away
(she was typing... she was typing)
Answer her while she got somethin' to say

The night it ended wasn't loud — no plates, no slammed door
Eleven forty-eight, the text said: "Just come home"
And I sent... a thumbs-up
One tap. Six years. That's what it cost
Now I write the paragraphs at midnight
They sit on Delivered... never Read

Read it back... read it back
(the whole love's in the archive, baby)
Read it back... then go home
(go home, brother, go home tonight)
Every message was a door she held open

I scroll up when I can't believe it
Watch us shrink from paragraphs to a "K"
(down to a "K"... down to a "K")
Three dots lit the phone... then faded away
(don't you let that thread go grey)
Answer her while she got somethin' to say

If she texts you first, you text back like it's air
(seven-oh-two... every morning, every morning)
She still writes you novels — don't you dare send a "K"
Don't learn it the way I learned it