Black Tape Circuit

{brooding

1980s synth pad, slow

mechanical LinnDrum beat, chorused bass groove}

Cold pane.

Empty frame. No one’s left to call your name.

The input enters, the terminal glows,

Where the spark went,

nobody knows.

I see the harbour.

I see the rain.

A static signal inside the brain.

It won’t travel. It won’t pass.

A ghost trapped behind the glass.

{deep female monotone vocal,

spoken-word style} It’s a borrowed voice on a magnetic tape,

A patient engine built to escape.

You praise the shadow against the wall,

But the heart is a rhythm you can’t recall.

(No, you can’t recall.) {soaring synth melody enters,

driving dance-punk beat} Count the figures.

Halt the track. Spin the tape-loop,

double back.

Like a shoreline losing count,

Watch the heavy water mount.

Mid-thought. Mid-phrase. Slipping down a concrete maze.

The words desert the turning page— A wingless bird inside the cage.

{spoken monotone vocals return,

sparse synth sequence} It’s a borrowed voice on a magnetic tape,

A patient engine built to escape.

You praise the shadow against the wall,

But the heart is a rhythm you can’t recall.

{full band intensity, cascading synth hooks}

Groping the corridor... (Light has fled.) Doors shutting inside the head...

(What was said?) The talk goes on.

The thread is gone.

I am left behind.

{hollow reverb-soaked synth, slowed-down mechanical pulse}

Borrowed art.

Borrowed tongue. The engine sings what is left unsung.

Hear the music through the silent wall...

Hear the music... {fading rhythm,

droning analog synth outro}