7-Eleven at the End of the Universe

[Verse 1] Apocalypse coated my reality In gasoline glitter and fluorescent rain. The moon hung low like a busted security cam, Blinking red over the end of days. The stars went out like cigarette tips, One by one in the mouth of God. I laughed when the heavens cracked open wide, Then froze when the silence applauded. A raven beat inside my ribs, Black wings under neon skin. I came to watch the world burn out, But the light kept dragging me in. [Pre-Chorus] My eyes rolled back, the bassline bent, The night went holy, cheap, fluorescent. Orgasm at the thought of my own death, then I cried, Because the void looked beautiful Until it opened wide. [Chorus] Dance without rhythm and he won’t attract the worms, So I move like static while the dead sun burns. I’m not a prophet, I’m a panic attack In a party dress with my shadow cracked. Let the checkout halo bleach what it can’t save, Let the freezer hum psalms to the open grave. Apocalypse coated my reality, But something in me kept singing. [Verse 2] The angels stole batteries off aisle three, The devil mopped blood by the door. God was screaming into a payphone That wasn’t connected anymore. The cashier wore a paper crown, Scanning doom with chipped black nails. I asked her, “Is there meaning left?” She said, “Not much. But it sells.” A dead saint laughed by the nacho cheese, With ash on his tongue and salt in his grin. The slushie machine whispered my name Like it knew what I buried within. Every flavor tasted like childhood, Blue raspberry, cherry, and smoke. Every prayer stuck to the roof of my mouth, Every blessing felt like a joke. [Pre-Chorus 2] My heart kicked hard like a stolen machine, A cheap little motor in a dying dream. I came for oblivion dressed up in light, But the dark put its hand on my shoulder And held me tight. [Chorus 2] Dance without rhythm and he won’t attract the worms, But fear has music and the body learns. I’m not a martyr, I’m a midnight mistake, Still singing hymns while the windows shake. Let the checkout halo bleach what it can’t save, Let me feel one true thing before the grave. Apocalypse coated my reality, But something in me kept singing. [Bridge] At the 7-Eleven at the end of the universe, I met Jesus by the soda machine. He said, “Get a Double Gulp, little apocalypse, You look like you’ve seen what I’ve seen.” He took horchata. I took Diet Coke. The ice fell down like bones. We stood there sipping in the blue-white light While dead stars rang payphones. Some old prophet by the lotto rack Told a joke too true to survive. The punchline was hunger. The punchline was love. The punchline was being alive. And I had come there begging For the end of all things, For the sky to split open and stay. But one dumb joke in a dying store Made me want one more day. [Final Chorus] Dance without rhythm and he won’t attract the worms, So I sway where the fluorescent altar burns. I’m not a prophet, I’m a panic attack, But I heard God laughing and I laughed back. Raise my cup to the checkout glow, To horchata saints and Diet Coke ghosts. Apocalypse coated my reality, But something in me kept singing. Dance without rhythm and the darkness turns, The body remembers what the spirit learns. If the universe dies in convenience-store blue, I’ll laugh with the gods— Then cry for you. [Outro] The raven left my chest at dawn, One black feather, one last joke. I came here hungry for the end of all things, And stayed Because the ice fell Like bones In a paper cup Of hope.