Grease-stained apron hangs by the back door
Quiet stairs lead down to the wooden floor
Coffee steam rises through the card catalogue
Rowboat rocks in dust and heavy fog
Archive row where the light bends slow
Wooden hull drinks the glow we know
Pages turn but the water stays
Midnight drifts in the basement haze
Stamp date marks on an overdue slip
Oars rest quiet where the silence slips
Short order jokes keep the grill alive
Basement calm makes the heart revive
Archive row where the light bends slow
Wooden hull drinks the glow we know
Pages turn but the water stays
Midnight drifts in the basement haze
Rhodes piano hums through the ventilation
Muted trumpet calls from the preservation
Double bass walks where the shelves lean close
Rowboat floats where the knowledge grows
Archive row where the light bends slow
Wooden hull drinks the glow we know
Pages turn but the water stays
Midnight drifts in the basement haze
Eggs flip fast on the short-order line
Dust floats slow in the basement brine
Two worlds meet where the stairwell bends
Cook and keeper become old friends
Archive row where the light bends slow
Wooden hull drinks the glow we know
Pages turn but the water stays
Midnight drifts in the basement haze
Archive row where the light bends slow
Wooden hull drinks the glow we know
Bass walks out as the dawn breaks pale
Rowboat waits for the next night's tale