Rubber boots sink in grime
Nylon sings through midnight air
Tin box rattles on my knee
No bites come but I stay there
Steam rises from ramen vent
Kanji flickers red on glass
Rain writes names on pavement skin
Watch them fade and watch them pass
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
Blue and green on asphalt skin
Two reflections share one alley
Neither knows the other's been
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
We both catch what we're given
Cigarette ash falls slow
Cash register chimes three times
Salaryman checks his watch
Misses last train, reads the signs
Steam rises from ramen vent
Kanji flickers red on glass
Rain writes names on pavement skin
Watch them fade and watch them pass
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
Blue and green on asphalt skin
Two reflections share one alley
Neither knows the other's been
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
We both catch what we're given
Lead weight kisses muddy bottom
Float dips once, false alarm
Phone screen lights a tired face
Maps a route to somewhere warm
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
Blue and green on asphalt skin
Two reflections share one alley
Neither knows the other's been
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
We both catch what we're given
Soy sauce scent on cold wind
Bicycle bell cuts the quiet
Fisher reels in empty line
Observer checks the time on it
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
Blue and green on asphalt skin
Two reflections share one alley
Neither knows the other's been
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
We both catch what we're given
Dawn cracks gray on power lines
Vending machine clicks to sleep
Pink light dies on wet stone
Both reflections packed to keep
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
Blue and green on asphalt skin
Two reflections shared one alley
Now they know the other's been
Neon bleeds in oil-slick pools
We both caught what we were given
Line cuts the black water
Hook waits where shadows own