Hey wait for me! The young man cried aloud, Running across the street He couldn't find the crowd. The streets were paved with garbage The size of motor cars, While businessmen were drinking cocktails Somewhere - laced with caviar Meanwhile in a basement, I am listening to the rain Thinking about the day going by. And wasn't it a shame, I'd let the kettle boil dry. And I'd forgot to buy myself a T.V. guide Last daze of an empire Will be the first rays of hope I saw and heard the news today, Fifteen times or more; It helped me keep informed all day, Of what's going on outside my door. I read the papers in between the bulletins On the radio and T.V.; I didn't have to move an inch, I felt as solid as a tree. I looked out of my basement window, At a cat lying fast asleep. The street looked like the aftermath And the sky was turning grey. The crowd had moved on somewhere else - The young man talked to a garbage heap. As I looked down at my feet, I felt nothing left to say, but then, The last daze of an empire Can be the first rays of hope