A Thousand Strings Inside

when the tv kept running

It was September when we left the TV running for a week
I slept for the day and stirred coffee all night
For every sympathizer that arrives
A coin chimes in the shallow piggy bank

I've always had two or three people come for my birthday
And it was always enough to not receive the roses
A day before it happens

But now there are candles and a shelf stacked with coffee
I join the strangers when they call for me
When I wanted the pieces to move on their own, they won't
Three victories over that monochrome board
They shake my hand, and then go away

But we kept the TV running even when no one wanted a film
I pass by the screen when I run to the kitchen
After two town-crossers reunite with an old friend

They need some coffee,
I save a drop for myself with every cup I serve
I need to be awake
I'll catch sleep during the day

I received messages from high school,
Their lists piled up over the week
I wonder if they think I'm lucky, probably not
But the TV's still running and the film is a bore
I try to ignore it for every second

I only escape it fully when the roosters remind my time to bed
I find peace and run a week-long diary in my head

When I was young, there was a guy who turned the TV on
The screen blinded me
I turned my head around and slept on his lap

When the morning comes and I find myself on bed,
I get up and grab the remote from the shelf
The windows will open soon when the rooster chimes
I watch it glow in the dark,

the red single dot.