The Lab

I mark the glass in red
Three drops turn blue again
Late-night in the white room
You call it truth, I call it then

My hands smell like the spill
My notes are full of scars
I split a little atom
And watched it turn to stars

Count it down
Hold it still
Press my name
Against the seal

Test me again
Test me again
I break, I bend
Then I begin

Test me again
Test me again
Under the skin
I learn to win
(test me again)

The screen makes ghosts of names
The wires learn my face
I chase the cleanest answer
Through every locked-up place

A needle, a spark, a flare
A pulse inside the dark
I write the world in numbers
Then tear the numbers apart

Count it down
Hold it still
Press my name
Against the seal

Test me again
Test me again
I break, I bend
Then I begin

Test me again
Test me again
Under the skin
I learn to win
(test me again)

If I am made of dust
Why do I keep the flame?
If I am just a pattern
Why does it know my name?

Test me again
Test me again
I break, I bend
Then I begin

Test me again
Test me again
Under the skin
I learn to win
(test me again)