Griddle screams at three a.m.
Coffee black as river's hem
Brick sidewalk holds no herring run
Just acorns falling one by one
I cast my line on Beacon brick
No water here to bite the hook
Just autumn wind and gutter stream
A fisherman's landlocked dream
Eggs flip slow on seasoned steel
Mabel laughs at how I feel
She knows I count the lobster traps
Stacked by doors in burlap wraps
I cast my line on Beacon brick
No water here to bite the hook
Just autumn wind and gutter stream
A fisherman's landlocked dream
Charles River freezes hard and gray
No nets to haul at break of day
Mortar holds the ocean's tang
In every crack the seaweed hangs
I cast my line on Beacon brick
No water here to bite the hook
Just autumn wind and gutter stream
A fisherman's landlocked dream
Wool socks damp on wooden stool
Thermos steam cuts morning cool
Regulars ask where I have been
I grin and wipe the grill down clean
I cast my line on Beacon brick
No water here to bite the hook
Just autumn wind and gutter stream
A fisherman's landlocked dream
Brick tide rises brick tide falls
Brick tide rises
Brick tide falls
