Smoke Behind the Beat

City rain keeps tapping the window glass

I move like a shadow that the headlights pass

Breath in my throat, slow burn, thin light

I keep my distance from the etch-a-night

Neon leaks through the curtains, blue and cold

Every quiet thing I touch turns old

Your name sits low where the dark winds go

Half in my mouth and I still see no

Smoke behind the beat, I fade, I glide

Inside a little echo with no echo

Too high, smoke behind me

I drift, I stay

Too soft to break

And too numb to pray

The trumpet bends like a streetlamp sigh

Roads in a room like a worried sky

I wear my silence like a sag in your skin

Let the night come close

Then let it begin

Smoke behind the beat

I fade, I glide

Tie a little echo with nowhere to hide

Smoke behind the beat, I drift

I stay

Too soft to break

And too numb to pray

City rain

Keep talking

I'm still here