Blue denim shoulders catch the morning glare
Sparks fly like phosphorescence off his arc
Motel sign flickers buzzing in dry air
He lifts his hood to wipe the sweat and tar
[Pre-
The lamp keeper knows this steady flame
Each bead a pulse in copper vein
No storm can shake this measured claim
The dark retreats from weld and rain
Desert arc light cuts the haze clean
Steel bones rise where nothing grew
He builds his horizon serene
Blue collar gold in morning dew
Santa Fe hills wear ochre like old rust
Veranda posts hold shadows long and lean
His torch sings hymns to iron iron trust
No lighthouse beam cuts sharper cuts more clean
[Pre-
The lamp keeper reads the metal's tongue
Each joint a knot in heavy line
No foghorn sounds when day is done
Just cooling slag in morning shine
Desert arc light cuts the haze clean
Steel bones rise where nothing grew
He builds his horizon serene
Blue collar gold in morning dew
Tourists snap the adobe red and round
He measures gap and tack and bead and gap
No postcard view can match this metal sound
Each seam a map no storm can ever trap
Salt air memory rides the trade wind west
Kerosene scent on calloused thumb
He knows the pressure knows the test
The arc writes history to come
Desert arc light cuts the haze clean
Steel bones rise where nothing grew
He builds his horizon serene
Blue collar gold in morning dew
Sun dips low behind the Sangre range
Long shadows stretch across the welded frame
He packs his rods accepts the daily change
Another skeleton bears his name
Desert arc light cuts the haze clean
Steel bones rise where nothing grew
He builds his horizon serene
Blue collar gold in morning dew
Desert arc light cuts the haze clean
Steel bones rise where nothing grew
Hood down keys in ignition turn
Wide sky swallows tail light burn
