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For those passing through quickly, the scrawls on the sidewalks of San Francisco are just more noise in the city’s clutter.

But for the people living here, they are messages — warnings, memorials, jokes, confessions — written into the concrete itself.

Even if they’re painted or power-washed away, the words don’t stay gone. By night, they return — names of the dead, insults, prayers, dope jokes.

The phrase “dead inside,” sprayed in blue or black, marks corners and curbs like a recurring chorus.

Chalk tributes fill the cracks of the sidewalk: “RIP Chris. We

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