Concrete breathes, the windows blink
A wire hums its evening hymn
I hold my post above the curb
A steady pulse in restless air

I am not meant for dreams at all
No eyelids, no escape, no fall
I keep the corner warm and pale
For midnight hands and hurried tales
Small wings arrive from nowhere near
They orbit hope and disappear
Like little questions in the dark
That never find a place to park

Under my halo, everyone believes
Their words are safe, their masks can breathe
But light is honest when it lands
It shows what shaking hearts can’t stand

I don’t choose who’s right, who’s wrong
I only hold the night this long
And every face becomes a map
Of what they hide, and what they lack
If you lean close, you’ll see it too
A quiet glow can cut things true
Not with a blade, not with a shout
Just by the shadows it pulls out

Two silhouettes collide and part
A cigarette becomes a spark
They trade their love like borrowed coins
Then spend it all on broken points
I’ve watched bright promises get made
In breath that fades before the day
And sorry words that stay in throat
Like paper boats that will not float
They look up at my steady flame
As if I’m judge, as if I’m blame
But I am only what I am
A tiny sun on borrowed land

I hear the city swallow sound
I hear the softest truth come down
In steps that pause, in hands that shake
In choices people cannot fake

I don’t choose who’s right, who’s wrong
I only hold the night this long
And every face becomes a map
Of what they hide, and what they lack
If you lean close, you’ll see it too
A quiet glow can cut things true
Not with a blade, not with a shout
Just by the shadows it pulls out

Ooh, I watch them leave in separate light
Ooh, I watch them try to stitch the night

Some nights I feel the minutes drag
Like heavy keys on rusted tags
I learn a thousand private wars
From brief reflections on wet floors
And when the sky turns ash to blue
I start to dim, like all things do
It isn’t death, it isn’t peace
Just another small release
Still, in the last thin trace I cast
I see the truest shape at last
Not what they said, not what they meant
But what remained when light was spent

So hold your breath, step into view
Let the pavement mirror you
Say what you can, or say nothing
I’ll keep the outline of your loving

I don’t choose who’s right, who’s wrong
I only hold the night this long
And every face becomes a map
Of what they hide, and what they lack
If you lean close, you’ll see it too
A quiet glow can cut things true
Not with a blade, not with a shout
Just by the shadows it pulls out

And when the morning shuts me down
The lesson stays on silent ground
A little light, a simple proof
Can make the darkest heart tell truth

City hush, then daylight’s wheel
My filament forgets to feel
But somewhere in the afterglow
Your shadow keeps what you don’t show