A Shape That Forgets Itself (Version 2)

Verse

Feed the drum, the light runs flat

Toner ghost on a curling sheet

I know the edge, I know it's gone

Ninth copy, the letters retreat

Contrast drops one shade each time

I know the shape, I know the name

Lines go soft where the ink gave way

I know the loss, I know it's tame

Pre-Chorus

Tell the glass to hold the line

Tell the drum to keep the grain

Ninth pass and the numbers blur

I know the loss, I know the gain

Chorus

A shape that forgets itself

A shape that forgets itself

Grey on grey, the edges melt

A shape that forgets itself

Verse

Feed it again, the tray runs dry

Static clings to the fallen page

I know the source, I know it's far

Tenth copy wears the tenth copy's age

The staple rusts, the corner curls

I know the file, I know the drawer

Somewhere back a black stood still

I know the shape it stood for

Pre-Chorus

Tell the glass to hold the line

Tell the drum to keep the grain

Tenth pass and the numbers blur

I know it's fading, I remain

Chorus

A shape that forgets itself

A shape that forgets itself

Grey on grey, the edges melt

A shape that forgets itself

Bridge

The first sheet was a copy too

I know it now, I knew it then

No source behind the source I sought

Just drum, just light, again, again

Just drum, just light, again

Chorus

A shape that forgets itself

A shape that forgets itself

Grey on grey, the edges melt

A shape that forgets itself