Lyric

Cracked sidewalk filled with dark rainwater

Should I step through it or around

Graffiti layered over older graffiti

What stays

When names fade

Rust-streaked roll-up garage door

Nothing opens here

No matter how long I wait

Underpass echo with damp air

My footsteps return

Close to my ear

Faded lane markings splitting into two directions

Do I have to choose

Now

“No Loitering” sign bent at the corner

As if we ever had

A place to stay

Oil sheen floating on dark water

Can light forget its shape

Streetlight reflection broken by ripples

Which version is closer

Everything thinning

Before I do

Can I stay solid

A little longer

Residential Permit Only

Am I passing through

Or pretending

Street name sign slightly twisted

Do names turn

When no one looks

Cigarette burn on a metal handrail

Who waited here

Longer than they meant to

Footprints drying on concrete

How long

Before they disappear

Chain-link fence humming in the wind

How does something so thin

Hold a sound

Elevator call button glowing

If I press twice

Does it hurry

Oil sheen floating on dark water

Can light forget its shape

Streetlight reflection broken by ripples

Which version is closer

Everything thinning

Before I do

Can I stay solid

A little longer

Canal railing cold to the touch

Should I let go first

Nothing opens

Nothing stays

My steps

My name

My shape

Cracked sidewalk

Dark rainwater

Light breaks

And doesn’t return

I keep walking

Until it doesn’t matter