Fully Nocturnal

Five past nine, same old ritual,
Alarm goes off, feelin’ non-functional.
World says, “Wake up, get normal,”
But my brain’s been fully nocturnal.

Every job had a desk and a clock on the wall,
Nine till five, and my energy would stall.
Hit snooze till I nearly cracked my phone,
Dragged through doors with my head not home.
Got there late, then I couldn’t lock in,
Whole day uphill just to clock one win.
Had the knowledge, had the fire, had the kit,
But the daylight never made my focus stick.
Boss saw me late, tired, starting to drift,
Never saw the systems I could build on shift.
Called it lazy, said I’d lost motivation,
Same old exit, same wrong explanation.

They said, “Why can’t you work like the rest?”
I said, “I don’t know,” with a weight in my chest.
But when the city went quiet, I was at my best,
One in the morning, no limits, no stress.

Fully nocturnal, fully awake,
All my best moves are the ones I make late.
A-D-H-D, now I finally know
Why I never fit the nine-to-five road.
Fully nocturnal, lights down low,
Whole world sleeping but I’m ready to go.
I stopped trying to be what I’m told,
Now I’m fully, fully nocturnal.

With my own start-up, I could work in peace,
While the whole town slept, I could never cease.
Blue-screen glow, caffeine and code,
Following the spark wherever it flowed.
One locked-in night could cover a week,
When the spark hit right, I was sharp, not weak.
Not a superpower, just the right design,
Put me on my own clock and I come alive.
Then the company failed and the love fell apart,
Mid-thirties, a breakdown hit hard in the dark.
But down in the wreckage, a truth came through,
All of those years started making sense too.

Not a flaw, not a curse, not a lack of ambition,
Just a different rhythm, a different position.
I stopped asking why I couldn’t play their role,
Started finding places where I could be Fully nocturnal, fully awake,
All my best moves are the ones I make late.
A-D-H-D, now I finally know
Why I never fit the nine-to-five road.
Fully nocturnal, lights down low,
Whole world sleeping but I’m ready to go.
I stopped trying to be what I’m told,
Now I’m fully, fully, fully nocturnal.

First it was pizzas on a late-night run,
Streetlights and doorbells when the day was done.
Then milk rounds, proper midnight to dawn,
Clock in while they slept, clock out as they yawned.
Used to think I was backwards, now I know I’m aligned,
Found work that fit the shape of my mind.
Then Covid hit, home working came alive,
No need for the office just to prove you arrived.
When London’s dark, US start-ups start their day,
Better hours, better pay, a better way.
Met my oldest friends on I-R-C,
UK asleep; now their daytime works for me.

No more forcing a square through a circle,
No more shame for a life less formal.
My clock ain’t wrong, it just runs its own course,
Turn the night into power, turn the difference to force.

Fully nocturnal, fully awake,
All my best moves are the ones I make late.
A-D-H-D, now I finally know
Why I never fit the nine-to-five road.
Fully nocturnal, lights down low,
Whole world sleeping but I’m ready to go.
I stopped trying to be what I’m told,
Now I’m fully, fully, fully nocturnal.

They go to work as I’m heading home,
Sun comes up and I’m in my zone.
Different clock, but a beautiful role—
Fully nocturnal.