Intro
Streetlamp at Kessler and Vine, buzzes like a hive
Cracked circle of light on the concrete, that's mine
Been standing under it since twenty-oh-five
Some call it a corner, I call it a shrine
Verse
Nine-thirty bell rings, the school doors let 'em loose
Backpacks half zipped, sneakers scuffed, no excuse
I catch the small ones drifting toward the liquor store line
Pull 'em back with a whistle, tell 'em not this time
Marcus tried to run product when he was thirteen
Traded him a job sweeping Duke's for the same routine
Paid him in quarters and a Sunday plate of rice
Cheaper than a coffin, cheaper than the price
My own mama begged me, said baby get up out
Cousin got a couch in Fairview, said just move about
But who gon stand under the halo when I'm gone
Who gon catch the ones about to step on the lawn
Every night same post, same jacket, same stare
Counting kids like sheep just to keep the count fair
Scraped my knuckles once pulling Danny off a fight
Kept the scab like a medal, wore it like a stripe
Chorus
Concrete halo, cracked but it still shine
Keep the block lit up on Kessler and Vine
Ain't no wings on my back, just a streetlamp glow
Stayed for the ones who ain't got nowhere to go
Verse
Ten years running, seen three mayors come and lie
Same potholes, same promises, same paper signs
Rico came home from upstate, four years thin
Asked to sling under my light, said let me back in
I said no, told him the halo don't cover that weight
He called me soft, walked off mad, slammed the gate
Two weeks later heard he caught a case on Rell
Different corner, different light, same old spell
I carry that like a stone I never asked to hold
Wonder if my no was mercy or if it was cold
Little Tasha's reading now, third grade, top of her class
Says she wants my job when she grows, guarding the path
I laugh but my chest gets tight like a fist
Cause this ain't no legacy I meant to exist
Streetlamp flickered last Tuesday, city sent a repair truck
I stood there and prayed they wouldn't take my luck
Chorus
Concrete halo, cracked but it still shine
Keep the block lit up on Kessler and Vine
Ain't no wings on my back, just a streetlamp glow
Stayed for the ones who ain't got nowhere to go
Bridge
Twenty years old when I first stood post, thirty now, still don't roam
Never got the house, never got the phone that rings from home away
Some say I wasted a life holding up a lam
