I held the morning black and hot
Driver's hands were rough but gentle
Six AM the city woke
Fare paid in coins and tired sighs
Ceramic skin meets rusted fire
Summer heat fades behind brick walls
I keep the warmth of gone routines
Silent witness to evening calls
Pigeons strut on cracked cement
Feathers dust the flaking paint
A siren screams three blocks away
Meter ticks in some cab downtown
Ceramic skin meets rusted fire
Summer heat fades behind brick walls
I keep the warmth of gone routines
Silent witness to evening calls
Coffee stain maps a thousand rides
Ring left by a wedding band
Passenger forgot her umbrella
Rain never came to wash it clean
Ceramic skin meets rusted fire
Summer heat fades behind brick walls
I keep the warmth of gone routines
Silent witness to evening calls
Neon flickers awake below
Pink and blue on wet asphalt
Driver lights a cigarette
Ember glows like a dying star
Handle cool against my side
Memories steep in leftover grounds
Every fare a story told
Every curb a chapter closed
Midnight drifts on humid wind
Owl hoots from the water tower
I'll still be here when dawn breaks
Chipped rim catching first pale light
Ceramic skin meets rusted fire
Summer heat fades behind brick walls
I keep the warmth of gone routines
Silent witness to evening calls
Ceramic skin meets rusted fire
Summer heat fades behind brick walls
I keep the warmth of gone routines
Silent witness to evening calls
Steam curls off chipped porcelain rim
Night shift ends for the watching cup
Dawn pays the fare in gold light