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
