Gateway Love

[Verse 1 - Male]
Met you at my lowest
You were light through the broken door
Said my name like you owned it
Now it’s carved in the bathroom drawer
Shared secrets on the cold tile
Your head on my chest so still
You said, “I’m scared of your dark side”
I laughed, said, “Baby, I just feel”
But I fell into your echo
Every “always” turned to rust
You were home ‘til you were hollow
Now I’m choking on the dust (yeah)
[Chorus - Both]
Love is a gateway, straight to the fire
Opens like heaven, closes like wire
Wraps around the heart ‘til the heart can’t breathe
Love is a gateway, gateway to grief
Love is a gateway, look what it’s done
Turned a soft soul into someone numb
Hold me ‘til I break, leave me in the rain
Love is a gateway, gateway to pain
[Verse 2 - Female]
You said that you were careful
You said you’d never drop my trust
But you lied with such conviction
That I mistook it all for us
Cooked dinner in your sweatshirt
Just to feel you on my skin
You were scrolling through her pictures
While I washed your guilt from the sink
Every promise was a poison
Every “baby” was a brand
Now my reflection looks like strangers
You erased me with your hands (oh)
[Chorus - Both]
Love is a gateway, straight to the fire
Opens like heaven, closes like wire
Wraps around the heart ‘til the heart can’t breathe
Love is a gateway, gateway to grief
Love is a gateway, look what it’s done
Turned a soft soul into someone numb
Hold me ‘til I break, leave me in the rain
Love is a gateway, gateway to pain
[Bridge - Both]
[Beat pulls back, lonely piano]
You: “I just wanted to feel something”
Me: “You carved it out of me”
You: “I swear I tried to be better”
Me: “You swore inside my sheets”
Two ghosts on the same pillow
Two strangers in the same room
We built a church out of bruises
Prayed to a love that became our tomb (yeah)
[Chorus - Both]
Love is a gateway, straight to the fire
Opens like heaven, closes like wire
Wraps around the heart ‘til the heart can’t breathe
Love is a gateway, gateway to grief
Love is a gateway, look what it’s done
Turned a soft soul into someone numb
Hold me ‘til I break, leave me in the rain
Love is a gateway, gateway to pain
[Outro - Female, soft]
Love was the doorway I walked through slow
Left as a shadow that nobody knows
If I ever love again, I’ll remember your name
‘Cause love is a gateway
To beautiful
Ruin and flame

rap, Moody hip-hop ballad over sparse, reverb-heavy piano and deep, rounded bass; alternating male/female vocals in a call-and-response duet. Verses half-rapped, half-sung with close-mic intimacy, subtle vinyl crackle. Hook opens wider with stacked harmonies and distant choir pads, kick and snare leaning behind the beat for a dragging, haunted feel. Gradual build in the bridge with octave piano hits and filtered drums, then a stripped final chorus that dies on a single unresolved chord., hip hop, soulful, sad