Miracle On Zero Sleep
Three in the morning, eyes like cracked glass
heartbeat kicking double time against a rib cage full of knots
Laptop glow on my face like a bad ghost
open tabs about rent, side hustles, cheap noodles
and all the wars I’ve already lost
I’ve got coffee that tastes like burned hope
nicotine on my breath whether I smoked or just inhaled someone else’s night
And still this dumb little stubborn ambition is bouncing off the walls
yelling “we could make something out of this, alright.”
I shuffle through riffs and half-assed lyrics
folder full of “maybe later” that smells like fear and old mistakes
Scroll my own messages
see all the “sorry for the delay
life got weird” excuses trailing behind unfinished takes
Outside
the streetlight flickers like it’s dodging sleep too
humming in time with my overheated brain
I should shut it all down
but there’s a beat in my fingers tapping on the desk saying “stay up
you beautiful wreck, ride this train.”
Who decided miracles only belong to well-rested saints with tidy schedules and perfect teeth
I have seen entire lifetimes shift on the fourth cup of coffee and the fire underneath
Sometimes salvation looks like hitting save at dawn when you were sure you had nothing left to breathe.
This is a miracle on zero sleep
a chorus dragged out of a tired throat
Stitched together with caffeine jitters and a desperate
scribbled note, If tomorrow wrecks me, fine
tonight I’m clinging to this wild relief, That broken
blurry, half-awake as I am
I can still pull off a miracle on zero sleep.
The sun starts leaking in around the curtains like a nosy neighbor peeking in on my unmade life
Birds start yelling their nonsense, cars roll out
and somewhere somebody is kissing someone goodbye or starting a new fight
I’m still in the same clothes, same chair, same spiral
but the song in my hands finally clicks and takes its first real breath
And for one electric second I forget the late fees
the headaches, the ache in my spine
and the fear of death.
Maybe I’ll crash by noon, maybe I’ll shake all day
talking too fast, dreaming too big
Maybe everyone will nod and smile while they think “they’re losing it
this kid needs a real gig
” But no one else saw the moment when the noise split open and gave me something real to dig.
This is a miracle on zero sleep
a chorus dragged out of a tired throat
Stitched together with caffeine jitters and a desperate
scribbled note, If tomorrow wrecks me, fine
tonight I’m clinging to this wild relief, That broken
blurry, half-awake as I am
I can still pull off a miracle on zero sleep.
Here’s to the insomniac artists and midnight coders
the nurses and drivers who keep the world spinning while the rich ones snore
To the parents pacing floors
to the anxious kids refreshing notifications till their thumbs are sore
You are the reason morning happens at all
your tired hands keep spinning this ridiculous rock through space
Every time you say “one more hour” when your body begs for mercy
you’re keeping the lights on in this place.
This is a miracle on zero sleep, not pretty, not tidy
not sane
Just a half-broken choir singing “fuck giving up” through the ringing in our brain
If tomorrow writes us off as lazy failures, let them
we’re playing for keeps, We are miracles on zero sleep
and we’re in too deep.
I’ll crash later, world
right now I’m turning jitter into gold
Miracle on zero sleep, same tired kid, twice as bold.