## Song 05: The False Tailor Waltz

[Verse 1]  
He came with velvet in his hands,  
He came with sugar on the blade,  
He said, Be soft and easier,  
He said, Be less afraid.  

But every seam he offered  
Closed tighter at the wrist,  
And every gentle compliment  
Had iron in the kiss.  

[Chorus]  
No thread that steals refusal,  
No praise that locks the gate,  
No healing that erases  
The name it claims to save.  

[Bridge]  
Growth can change the garment,  
Growth can mend the tear,  
But theft requires a costume  
With no breathing there.  

[Final Chorus]  
No thread that steals refusal,  
No crown that clamped the frame,  
If care must eat the boundary,  
Care is not its name.