Mrs. Patterson Caught Us Once

Lyrics

[Intro]
(Sisukiro)
The clock had just struck four. The light through the workshop window turned gold and thin. Her shoes on the floorboards, a sound we knew. The lapidary wheel spun down to a whisper, then stopped.

[Verse 1]
(Bouba)
My hands were white with calcite dust. My thumb was still pressed on the head of the chisel. I saw Kiki slide the second drawer shut, but not quite in time. Her shadow fell across the workbench, across the box of polishing grit. Her knuckles were pale as she reached for the small wooden knob.

[Verse 2]
(Kiki)
She didn't gasp. She just slid the drawer open all the way. There they were. The obsidian engraved with Quim. The smooth river stone that said Pizzle. The slate tile with the Latin for 'to join'. A neat row of quiet facts. She picked one up, the one marked Fornix. She held it to the light.

[Chorus]
(Sisukiro)
We waited for the fire. For the sermon on shame. We waited for the confiscation, the lecture that would last until dark. But the only sound was her breath, slow and steady. The craft is honest. The stones don't lie. And Mrs. Patterson put the slate tile down, carefully, without a sound.

[Verse 3]
(Sisukiro)
She turned from the bench. Walked to the small coal stove where the kettle was kept warm. She took down three cups. Two were chipped. She found the tin of tea, the jar of blackberry jam. She didn't say a word.

[Verse 4]
(Bouba)
The cup was warm in my hands. Warmer than the stones ever were.
(Kiki)
She passed the scones on a plate that didn't match.
(Bouba)
The steam smelled like home, not like trouble.
(Kiki)
There was no lesson. There was no punishment. Just the quiet work of spreading jam on a scone.

[Bridge]
(Sisukiro)
When the tea was gone, she went back to the workbench. She pushed the second drawer closed. She opened the first, the one with the clean stones. She picked up a piece of green serpentine, cool and smooth. She handed it to Kiki. She gave a piece of granite to Bouba. "The wheel," she said. Just that. "The wheel."

[Outro]
(Kiki)
I chose a new word. Feldspar.
(Bouba)
I chose Honesty.
(Sisukiro)
The dust began to fly again. The smell of stone and water and tea. The craft is honest. The children are good.