I am the booth of grey and cold
A rusted shell of stories told
I watch the blacktop stretch and bend
Where Arizona highways end
The Saguaro stands in silent prayer
Dry heat hangs heavy in the air
The Opuntia clings to red clay sand
I hold the keys to this dry land
Take a coin and pay the toll
I am the keeper of the road
Watching headlights cut the night
Trading silver for the light
A driver stops with shaking hand
A stranger lost in desert land
He smells of diesel and old pine
A brief crossing of a line
Take a coin and pay the toll
I am the keeper of the road
Watching headlights cut the night
Trading silver for the light
Like a seed in salted ground
I wait for a human sound
Rooted deep in asphalt skin
Letting the lonely travelers in
I know the way the xylem flows
How the wild desert willow grows
I track the wind by how it sighs
Underneath these copper skies
The metal coins are cold and thin
But a smile lets the warmth begin
One small nod before they fly
Underneath the burning sky
Take a coin and pay the toll
I am the keeper of the road
Watching headlights cut the night
Trading silver for the light
Just a root in concrete grey
Watching all the cars drift away
Drift away
Drift away
