Ruyi Jingu Bang

Lyrics

I was the ruler that measured the deep,
Black iron holding the ocean floor down.
The dragons would circle me while they were asleep.
Thirteen thousand, five hundred jin in the crown.
I was a pillar of quiet and cold,
Capped at both ends in celestial gold.

But they don't tell you the terror of shrinking.
"As you will," I obey, I condense and I fold.
Down to a splinter, down to a shaving,
A microscopic sliver of iron and gold.
I am the weight of a mountain, asleep in an ear.

I ride in the dark, tucked tight in the fur,
Listening to the chaotic drum of his blood.
Before his hand reaches, I stretch to a blur,
Becoming the weapon before the thought is understood.
The bridge between his intent and my spine,
A perfectly obedient, shape-shifting line.

But sometimes he rests in the high mountain pass.
Sometimes he carelessly scratches his head.
What if he flicks me away in the grass?
A world-crushing pillar, disguised as a thread.
What if I slip from the warmth of his skin?
Trapped as a needle that weighs thirteen thousand jin.

They don't tell you the terror of shrinking.
"As you will," I obey, I condense and I fold.
Down to a splinter, down to a shaving,
A microscopic sliver of iron and gold.
I am the weight of a mountain, asleep in an ear,
Afraid of a drop I might never undo.

Just a heavy little secret in the weeds.
Deaf to the wind.
Waiting for a mind to say grow.
And the grass is so tall.