Intro
Bell above the door don't ring, it hums
Same four cracks in the tile since I was young
Milk crate throne, cigarette haze for a halo
I ain't ask for this, but the block made it so
Verse
Sixteen and I was stealing chips, hood low
Now I'm forty behind glass, watched the whole block grow
Kids come in asking what the streets gon' cost
Ring 'em up a soda, tell 'em what I already lost
Man named Reggie ask me should he take the job upstate
I sold him a phone card, told him don't be late
Told him leave tonight before the doubt gets loud
Told him pride is heavy, don't wear it like a shroud
Marcus' mama come in crying, rent past due
I slide her coffee free, tell her I got you
Write her name in chalk beside the cooler door
Erase it when she pays me, never keep the score
Teenager pulled a blade once, I ain't even flinch
Told him put it back before it costs an inch
He put it back, bought gum, ain't never came back wrong
That's the only sermon this whole corner ever known
Hook
No robe, no pulpit, just linoleum and light
Half the block confessing what they can't say right
I ain't got the answers, only got the time
Corner store prophet, same shift every time
Verse
I could've left in '09 when the offer came through
Cousin had a spot downstate, said the rent was cheaper too
But who gon' watch the counter when the old man got the shakes
Who gon' catch the kids before the first mistake
Got a scar above my eye from a Tuesday gone loud
Kept the store open anyway, wiped the blood off the towel
Somebody asked me why I stayed when I could've been gone
I told 'em loyalty ain't a feeling, it's a job you clock on
Sharpie names on the wall behind the register still
Half of them upstate now, half of them chilling still
I keep the tally in my head, not the ledger book
Every face that walked through here, I remember how they look
Nephew asked me for the truth about the man he lost
I told him love him anyway, don't measure by the cost
That's the only prophecy this corner ever gave
Stay soft where it matters, stay hard where it save
Hook
No robe, no pulpit, just linoleum and light
Half the block confessing what they can't say right
I ain't got the answers, only got the time
Corner store prophet, same shift every time
Bridge
Some nights I lock the gate and sit alone with the hum
Wonder who's gon' inherit this when my knees finally numb
I ain't no saint, I just outlasted the noise
Made peace with the corner before it made peace with the boys
Nephew's sixteen now, sweeping up after close
I watch him watch the block the way I used to, I suppose
One day this counter's his, this light, this same low hum
Prophet ain't a title, it's whoever stays and comes
Outro
Bell above the door still hums, still low
Same four cracks in the tile, same story to grow
I ain't leaving till the lights go dark for good
Corner store prophet, same spot, understood
