Intro
Roof tar sticks to my boots like a memory won't let go
Whistle low over the block where the ravens land slow
Grandfather's key still warm from the fire in my palm
Some men keep a Bible, I keep a coop and a psalm
Verse
Tar roof cracked like a knuckle under August heat
Grandfather's coop built from crates and chicken wire, complete
He'd whistle low, the birds would drop from the gray like rain
Said every pigeon that returns is proof against the pain
Ravens sat the wire since before I learned to walk
Never touched the coop, just watched us, black as scorched chalk
He banded wings with numbers, kept a chart in ink
Said the block will test you, birds will show you how to think
Feed bucket rusted, still I filled it every dawn
Watched him die in autumn, kept the whistle going on
Buried him with feathers folded soft against his chest
Told the ravens circling low he finally got his rest
Roof key on my neck now, cold against my skin
Coop door creaks the same song that it always sings
Learned the difference early between loyal and for show
Pigeons always find the roof, ravens just watch below
Chorus
Ravens over the block, circling what we lost
They perch upon the wire and count the hidden cost
I keep the coop lit, teach
