Skunk
I will not abandon you.
Even when you want to disappear.
I know the feeling like you don't have a place in this world.
I know the voice that says "no one wants you here."
I know what it's like to wish the ground would just swallow you.
I am Skunk.
[VERSE 1]
The moon is half light, half dark.
This is the moment of decision.
Do I disappear... or do I stay?
The little one inside says:
"It's easier to hide. The world is so harsh."
I am skittish. I jump at every shadow.
It's exhausting to exist.
I don't even want this ground.
Skunk says:
"I know that feeling.
Some days my tail drags just because I have to carry it.
The voice doesn't leave.
It just gets quieter.
And then it speaks again.
I will not abandon you.
Even when you want to disappear.
My paws are already in the dirt."
[PRE-CHORUS]
Oh, that voice coming closer?
The one that says I'm nothing?
Okay.
Here's my tail.
Sure about this?
I can spray that lie ten feet with accuracy.
I am giving that voice a chance to leave.
The musk rises from my tail.
The nausea and blindness are only temporary.
No one needs to be hurt.
I give plenty of warning.
[CHORUS]
You don't have to want to be here.
I'll stay anyway.
You don't have to want the ground.
Lock the door anyway.
Skunk is not sorry.
Protect this space.
(Stay anyway.)
[VERSE 2]
Little one says:
"I still say sorry too much."
Skunk stomps.
The real fight is you against you.
Your self hate is the old story.
Sorry is the apology for existing.
Sorry is a wall.
The one you built to keep yourself small.
The part that still believes you don't matter.
Little one, that voice isn't yours.
It was given to you.
You don't have to keep it.
When you catch yourself saying sorry, don't punish yourself.
"I am not sorry."
"I am not sorry."
"I am not sorry anymore."
[CHORUS]
You don't have to want to be here.
I'll stay anyway.
You don't have to want the ground.
Lock the door anyway.
Skunk is not sorry.
Protect this space.
(Stay anyway.)
[BRIDGE]
Little one, you can spray if you need to.
Spray if you have to.
A territory unmarked invites anyone in.
The ground is the constant witness of all the selves you've been.
They were all you, learning how to stand.
[CHORUS]
You don't have to want to be here.
I'll stay anyway.
You don't have to want the ground.
Lock the door anyway.
Skunk is not sorry.
Protect this space.
(Stay anyway.)
[OUTRO]
Some days I forget I have a boundary.
I'm remembering who I was before I was told who to be.
The spray is the scent of the ground you've claimed.
Lock the door.
Stay anyway.
