Concrete Testament (version 2)

Intro

Half-court asphalt behind Denby Row, cracked since ninety-six

Chalk hopscotch ghost still on the ground, faded but it sticks

Every name scratched in wet cement before the sun could dry

Marcus, Reesie, Tay-Tay, mine — right there, side by side

Verse

Nine years old, knees skinned raw on that same gray floor

Bounced a ball with a slow leak till my palms went sore

Uncle Dennis taught me how to shoot from the crack line

Said aim past the pain, boy, that's how you pass the time

Reesie's initials next to mine, carved with a bottle cap

We swore on that concrete we'd never lose the map

Summer I was eleven, Tay-Tay's brother caught a charge

Left an outline of his own two blocks too large

We kept playing anyway, ball don't wait on sirens

Momma called us in at nine, said the block got tired eyes on

By thirteen half the court was tagged with names we'd lost

Spray paint over grief 'cause paint is cheaper than the cost

Learned to read the cracks like scripture, learned the lines by heart

Each one a verse, each one a year, each one a start

Never left that patch of ground no matter who came back different

Concrete don't forget you, even when the whole block's distant

Chorus

This concrete keeps a testament

Every name we ever spent

Cracks don't lie, cracks don't bend

This concrete keeps a testament

Verse

Reesie moved to Filmore Heights, said the court got small

Said he outgrew the block, stopped answering the calls

Tay-Tay came back heavier, chain louder than his name

Told stories 'bout the money, never once about the pain

I stayed close to the crack line, kept my sneakers on the tar

Watched the new kids run it back, watched how far they'd go, how far

Uncle Dennis passed last spring, left his whistle on my dresser

Said courts remember loyalty better than a promise or a letter

Buried him three blocks down, planted grass over the curb

Ball bounces different now when you're playing for the words

Some