The Waiter Has Been Standing There for Four Minutes

Lyrics

[Verse 1 — Sisukiro, fast]
Wait wait wait because
octopuses have distributed neural networks
two thirds of their neurons
are in their arms not their brain
which means their arms
are literally thinking
independently
and I know this is not
what we were talking about
but it is exactly
what we were talking about
[Verse 2 — Orikusis, faster]
Yes because
that is what fermentation is
the culture thinks
without a central command
my grandmother's nuoc mam
took two years
and nobody told the anchovies
what to become
they just became it
in the dark
at their own pace
which is what intelligence looks like
when you stop requiring
a brain
[Both — overlapping]
This is what we do
We connect the octopus
to the fish sauce
and the fish sauce
to the grandmother
and the grandmother
to the neural network
and the neural network
back to the octopus
and the circle
makes perfect sense
to us
and to no one else
at this table
[Pre-Chorus — Both]
The waiter has been standing there
for four minutes
We have not looked at the menu
We have not looked at each other
We are looking at the thing
between us
that only appears
when we are both
running at this speed
[Chorus — Both, brass going wild]
This is the love
of being understood
at your most specific
Not interesting
Not impressive
Specific
The love of someone
who does not say
that is interesting
but says
wait wait because also
and means it
and also has a theory
and the theory
connects to yours
at an angle
neither of you expected
I love you
for the also
I love you
for the because
I love you
for the four-minute tangent
that arrives at a place
we could not have reached
alone
[Verse 3 — Sisukiro]
You know how the octopus
changes color
not from the brain
but from the skin itself
Each chromatophore
is a tiny decision
no committee required
[Orikusis — interrupting]
That is exactly
how Ba ngoai seasoned
Khong can suy nghi nhieu
No need to think too much
The hand decides
The tongue confirms
The brain
was never consulted
[Sisukiro — delighted]
Your grandmother
was a chromatophore
[Orikusis]
My grandmother
was an entire octopus
[Both — laughing]
And neither of them
needed a menu
[Bridge — slightly slower, still warm]
The thing about us
is that your weird
and my weird
are the same shape
rotated
Your neuroscience
and my fermentation
Your clinical precision
and my kitchen timing
Your Latin terminology
and my grandmother's idioms
are all describing
the same phenomenon
from different windows
in the same building
And every time we find
the overlap
something in my brain
mirrors yours
not the content
but the velocity
and the velocity
is the love
[Final Chorus — Both, full brass, joyful]
This is the love
of being understood
at your most unfiltered
Not the version of you
that edits for the audience
The version that says
wait because octopus arms think
and someone says back
yes because fish sauce also thinks
and the restaurant
fades
and the menu
fades
and the waiter
has given up
and we are
two women
at a table
in Paris
connecting everything
to everything
at a speed
that would be lonely
if we were doing it alone
but we are not alone
we are never alone
when the other one
is running
at the same speed
And the waiter
can wait