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Spoken version
A recorded reading of “The Dawn Switchboard”. If the player does not load, use the original audio source.
At 4:10, towers blink red. A swift settles on wire nine. Below, the flats hold their dark windows shut. One note clears the station roof. Across the bridge, a starling answers. A myna clicks from its sign— small metal syllable. Nothing switches. The signals keep their red for trains not yet due. On the third floor, a window slides up one palm's width.
Lyrics
The Dawn Switchboard Tsee-ree, tsee-ree Who holds the signal? The birds do! Who wakes the city? We do! At four ten, towers blink red. Sleeping blocks hold their breath. A swift drops onto wire nine. One bright note skips rooftops. A starling answers from the bridge. A myna clicks from a sign. Dark unbuttons block by block. Day receives its code. One spark over the station. Two replies across the square. Three wings beat through the current. Now the whole grid is there. Tsee-ree, call the dawn. Every wire sings along. At dusk, the last bus clears the square. Signal lamps blink out. One nightjar calls from the water tower. A far roof answers back. From shuttered shops to sleeping flats, quick replies pass on. By dawn, each window holds a spark. The waking streets sing on. One spark over the station. Two replies across the square. Three wings beat through the current. Now the whole grid is there. Tsee-ree, call the dawn. Every wire sings along. I don't need the night to end. I need one voice to answer. Tsee-ree, call the dawn. Every wire sings along. Tsee-ree, tsee-ree Tsee-ree
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