Meter running down Geary
Fog eats the headlights scary
Brass circle in my palm
Keeps time through the cold and calm
Pier pilings groan low
Watch face catches glow
Second hand won't bend
Stays put till the end
Antique heart beats on the wood
Salt and rust understood
No fare to flag no mile to log
Just fog and the diesel smog
Cabbies know the tide turns mean
Golden Gate swallows green
Passenger left this heirloom here
Didn't wait for dust to clear
Pier pilings groan low
Watch face catches glow
Second hand won't bend
Stays put till the end
Antique heart beats on the wood
Salt and rust understood
No fare to flag no mile to log
Just fog and the diesel smog
Brass grows warm in calloused grip
Salt crystals on the lip
Grandfather's gift or so he said
Now the bay claims what he bled
Antique heart beats on the wood
Salt and rust understood
No fare to flag no mile to log
Just fog and the diesel smog
Seagulls scream in minor key
No meter drops no fare to see
Hands point noon but sky stays gray
Time holds breath along the bay
Antique heart beats on the wood
Salt and rust understood
No fare to flag no mile to log
Just fog and the diesel smog
Shift ends when the horn blows long
Watch still ticks steady strong
Slip it back in wool-lined coat
Let the pier keep what it wrote
Antique heart beats on the wood
Salt and rust understood
No fare to flag no mile to log
Just fog and the diesel smog
Brass outlives the steel and rust
Time keeps turning turning just
Tick tock on the timber
Salt wind sings the number
