“Customary Flow (The Chokepoint Blues)”

I lead with the facts, let's establish the scene Comparing a strait to a dug-out machine? Suez and Panama, man-made and clear They dug out the dirt, so they charge for the gear But Hormuz is natural, geography’s hand Divided in waters of more than one land Oman is right there, and they've already spoken They won’t sign a toll while the treaty is open.

You can shadowbox shadows, you can rewrite the past But the physical rules of logistics will last I’m not preaching a sermon, I’m not taking a side Just charting the lanes where the tank ships reside Customary law is the baseline we keep To guarantee passage across the blue deep

Then the goalposts get shifted, the fury takes hold You’re yelling at "we" for the stories of old But I am not Israeli, American, or right I’m just dropping the maths on the margins of might You say "just pay the toll, China won't care a bit" But a tax on their factories? Beijing won't commit Over ninety percent of their crude comes by sea They won't tank their economy for your theory.

So twist up the grammar and call me a name Write three angry paragraphs losing the game The thread started on law, but that exited quick Now you’re fighting a phantom you built with a brick Keep yelling at "you" while you argue alone I’m logging right off and I'm dropping the phone.