[Intro]
[Unaccompanied piano plays the complete three-note motif with long spaces between phrases.]

The cup goes cold beside my hand.
The screen still waits for one command.
I know the words. I know the role.
I do not know who holds the soul.

[Verse 1]
I used to love the early hour,
Before the rooms had gathered power.
A silent desk, a difficult case,
A hidden pattern taking shape.
No praise was needed when it ran.
The work itself completed plans.
One honest function, clearly named,
Could leave the wider world less strained.

[Refrain]
But the cup goes cold, the daylight folds,
And every simple purpose grows old.
The cup goes cold while the monitor glows—
Where the careful man went, no one knows.

[Verse 2]
There was a joy in finding why
A number failed, a process died.
The answer did not shift its ground
Because a louder voice came round.
A broken test would not pretend.
It failed, and failure had an end.
Now every fact must wait its turn
While polished sentences slowly burn.

[Refrain]
And the cup goes cold, the daylight folds,
And every simple purpose grows old.
The cup goes cold while the monitor glows—
Where the patient man went, no one knows.

[Piano Interlude]
[The solo cello answers each piano phrase without resolving the final note.]

[Bridge]
You at the desk from years before,
Would you still know me through this door?
Would you forgive the words I said
When one more empty answer spread?

[Build-up]
The chair beside me has gone black.
The cleaning crew starts circling back.
I lift the cup, then set it down.
The coffee wears a silver crown.

[Final Chorus]
The cup goes cold, the daylight folds,
But somewhere one small purpose holds.
The cup goes cold; the screen still glows—
Three notes return that systems do not know.
A former self is almost found—
“Tomorrow’s workshop starts at two.”

[Outro]
He poured the coffee down the drain.
The piano left one note unnamed.
Beyond the glass, the city rolled.
The room stayed white. The cup stayed cold.