The numbers scroll across the screen, A bright, obedient countdown machine. From crowded rooms to fields of grain, We trade tomorrow for comfort today. A finger taps; the seconds fall, While the others wait inside a hospital's walls. The price of bread too high to bare, We watch the clock and call it care. If every ending has a date, Ignorance blinds us to our fate. You say, “Rejoice! the hard part’s done.” But daylight keeps arriving, one by one. Count it down! let the bright digits roll, Keep your eyes on the clock, not the cracks in our soul. Count it down! make the silence feel kind, If we stare long enough, we can leave "now" behind. But the morning still comes with its names and its cost. We count toward the dark while the living feel lost. A mother folds a notice scared, A gambling father's dreams now ensnared. The river carries trash we throw, The headlines flash, a constant flow. We learn the script, we learn the pose, We cheer the dates nobody knows. A simple muse is to ask why... But truth takes nerve to look in the eye. You say, “The final hour will make us whole.” But every borrowed second takes its toll. Count it down! let the bright digits roll, Keep your eyes on the clock, not the cracks in our soul. Count it down! make the silence feel kind, If we stare long enough, we can leave "now" behind. But the morning still comes with its names and its cost. We count toward the dark while the living feel lost. Put down the brain rot, look out instead... The day has a life, the street isn't dead... The truth isn’t gentle, the work isn’t done... But turning away now, won’t spare anyone... No distant blessing can settle the past debt. Live here in the hour, or live with regret. Count it down! let the bright digits roll. Or lift your eyes and take hold of your soul. Count it down! but don’t call that your peace. The clock won’t mend what we refuse to release. The morning still comes with its names and its cost. We can meet what is real, or keep counting the lost. Your eyes brighten, the day begins. The hardest truth is where change begins...
