[Intro]

[Intro] (Instrumental Solo) [Verse 1] Teacher slid a book across the desk, "Read it front to back" But the letters squirmed like minnows, wouldn’t stay on their track I slouched in the back row, faking that half-hearted grin While the page’s words kept swimming, spinning, caving in Reading felt like trench warfare, every chapter a hill Every paragraph a landmine, every sentence a drill Mom knelt down, called me Bowman, said "Fight just a little more" "Push through the static—you’re stronger than the roar" [Verse 2] So I learned to listen when the lines wouldn’t hold Carved my voice in the margins, forged a brand new mold Now I read with my ears, let the rhythm translate Turned a war with the words into power I create Used to think my brain was broken, every scantron a siren Answers blazed past me, confidence ironed flat by the fire Of comparison’s spotlight, where silence screamed loud While speed got the trophies, I was depth in the crowd [Pre-Hook] Took a long time to see it wasn’t lack of grind Just a different kind of wiring in my mind While they raced through the text, I was building the frame Seeing patterns and meaning while missing the name Now the pages don’t scare me—I make them behave Turned the struggle with reading into strength that I gave [Chorus] Read it slow, let it soak, let the message align Every line got a pulse, every word got a spine They said speed is the skill, I said depth is divine I don’t race through the page—I let the page redesign Read it low, read it loud, read between what they say Found my power in the pause, found my voice in the delay Was a war with the words, now the words on my side I don’t just read the lines—I read life when I rhyme [Verse 3] Wasn’t built for the sprint, I was mapping terrain Reading tone in a breath, reading cause in the pain I don’t skim for the gist—I interrogate meaning Hear truth in the cadence, catch lies in the breathing Labels tried to box me in, neat little squares But I read faces better than paragraphs there Read rooms, read moments, read when to speak Read pressure in posture, read strength in the weak [Bridge] They teach one way like the rest don’t exist But the mind’s not a ruler—it’s a prism that twists I learned patience from friction, focus from doubt Learned some doors open inward when you don’t rush them out The world’s not a textbook, it’s a poem unspooled I don’t need to keep up—I need to keep true to my rule [Chorus] Read it slow, let it soak, let the message align Every line got a pulse, every word got a spine They said speed is the skill, I said depth is divine I don’t race through the page—I let the page redesign Read it low, read it loud, read between what they say Found my power in the pause, found my voice in the delay Was a war with the words, now the words on my side I don’t just read the lines—I read life when I rhyme [Outro] So if the letters still swim, let ’em drift for a bit Every mind’s got a rhythm—gotta live in the fit I ain’t late to the lesson