You check the brass face glowing
Second hand sweeps past midnight
Platform tiles hold no knowing
Echoes fade in sodium light
Your boots strike cold concrete rhythm
Fare box clicks in memory
Wind tunnels through the tiled throat
Carries rain and exhaust note
Meter drops but wheels stay still
Night shift ends on frozen hill
Brass hands count steps you take
Each tick a mile you make
Pocket gold keeps steady time
While station clocks commit the crime
You walk the length and walk it back
No passenger to flag or pack
Fluorescent tubes flicker dying
Shadows stretch on yellow line
Last car screamed without replying
Left you standing past the sign
Vinyl seat creaks in your fingers
Steering ghost through empty streets
Wind tunnels through the tiled throat
Carries rain and exhaust note
Meter drops but wheels stay still
Night shift ends on frozen hill
Brass hands count steps you take
Each tick a mile you make
Pocket gold keeps steady time
While station clocks commit the crime
You walk the length and walk it back
No passenger to flag or pack
Rain slicks the escalator teeth
Metal grates drink cigarette ends
Watch crystal catches underneath
Glow from dying neon signs
Twenty years of fares and weather
Etched in scratches on the case
Brass hands count steps you take
Each tick a mile you make
Pocket gold keeps steady time
While station clocks commit the crime
You walk the length and walk it back
No passenger to flag or pack
Driver knows the city pulse
Manhole covers breathe steam sighs
Pocket watch don't need no pulse
Keeps on ticking when engine dies
Sunrise paints the platform gray
First train shudders into view
Brass hands count steps you take
Each tick a mile you make
Pocket gold keeps steady time
While station clocks commit the crime
You walk the length and walk it back
No passenger to flag or pack
Snap the cover shut and walk
Cab waits parked on avenue
Engine coughs to life with talk
Another shift to see you through
Brass heart beats against your chest
Counting miles toward the rest
Brass hands count steps you take
Each tick a mile you make
Pocket gold keeps steady time
While station clocks commit the crime
You walk the length and walk it back
No passenger to flag or pack
Brass hands count steps you take
Each tick a mile you make
Watch ticks on the dash
Morning swallows night
