the breath of dawn. it fell upon the city like a song
and cut the hum with a pulse more like a heartbeat than a drum
and i, beneath, woke up inside a world that never sleeps
and stretched and yawned and fell into the race again
(i'll try to keep my calm)

the cloud of smog. it sank into the depths of every pore
and loath to light stole fast away from under every door.
what is this fume that rises from the street as from a tomb?
a human stream, the exhale of a million souls and countless more machines.

(oh the clouds they're falling lower
scrape the sky that's rolling over
hold your breath and close your mind
you'll love it all in time)

this time i'll be ready for the spinning of the globe.
my seasick mind and heart will find their land legs on their own.
i find it hard to hear you in this all-consuming drone -
but i'll still smile as you fade into that part of me that i can call my own.

(oh the great screensaver sunset
the city tosses in a cold sweat
i tried to ride into a sky that
bled itself to sleep)