This City Didn’t End

Morning comes with borrowed light
Shadows stretch but feel so right
Windows shut yet signs remain
Warmth still lingers on the plain

People claim it's quiet here
Like silence means they disappeared
But hush won't make the past erase
When echoes cling to every space

Not all tales turn into flames
Some just learn new ways to stay

This city didn't end last night
It paused its chase of blinding light
Fewer lamps but burning strong
Some chose to stay and hold on

We didn't crack we didn't fade
Our story wasn't swept away
This city didn't meet its end
I stand to prove it won't descend

Late bus comes the clock won't race
Time now moves with softer pace
Shops stand empty roads stay true
Footsteps echo where they grew

Yet hands still reach through thinning air
Names won't vanish into glare
A thousand whispers softly say
This place won't lose its face today

Hearts don't need a roaring sound
To show their pulse still pounds

This city didn't end last night
It learned to walk with lesser might
Not in force not in sound
But roots that dig through solid ground

We didn't blur to lines of grey
In tales that others threw away
This city didn't break its frame
It built its bones to stake its claim

This city didn't end last night
It changed its tune but kept the fight
Less for show more hands to hold
Less of rush more time unfolds

We didn't win we didn't fail
Just fed the fire through the gale
This city didn't lose its name
The embers glow through wind and rain