there's an old man on a city bus holding a candy cane
and it isn't even christmas
he sees a note in the obituary that his last friend has died
there's an infant clinging to his overweight mother in the cold
as they go to shop for cigarettes
as the spends her last dollar on a bottle of vodka for tonight

and i guess it struck a nerve
like i had to squint my eyes
you can never get out of the line of sight
like a barren winter day
or a patch of unburned green
like a tragic real dream
i guess it struck a nerve

every day i wander in negative disposition
as i'm bombarded by superlatives
realizing very well that i am not alone
introverted i look to tomorrow for salvation
but i'm thinking altruistically
and a wave of overwhelming doubt turns me to stone

and i guess it struck a nerve
sent a murmur through my heart
we just haven't got time to crack the maze
like a magic speeding clock
or a cancer in our cells
a collision in the dark
i guess it struck a nerve

i try to close my eyes
but i cannot ignore the stimuli
if there's a purpose for us all
it remains a secret to me
don't ask me to justify my life