Brass lamp sits on pine wood shelf
Dust climbs beam he knows himself
Salt cracks deep in calloused palm
Night watch folds to morning calm
Flashlight caught in copper coil
Steam rises from the iron soil
Keeper's hand finds familiar weight
Darkness bends to kitchen light
Wool socks on cold flagstone floor
Logbook closed beside the door
Lens cloth folded neat and clean
Sharpest glass he's ever seen
Flashlight caught in copper coil
Steam rises from the iron soil
Keeper's hand finds familiar weight
Darkness bends to kitchen light
Gull cry distant through the pane
Rhythm matches slow refrain
Tide turns out at Black Rock Shoal
Kettle whistles, makes him whole
Flashlight caught in copper coil
Steam rises from the iron soil
Keeper's hand finds familiar weight
Darkness bends to kitchen light
Mug warms fingers cracked and brown
Salt spray memories settle down
No ship logs, no storm to track
Just the steam and no turn back
Sixty years the beam swept wide
Now it rests at morning's side
Same hands that turned the heavy glass
Stir the tea and watch it pass
Porcelain rim meets weathered lip
One small sip, a quiet ship
Harbor found in ceramic curve
Keeper's light will always serve
Flashlight caught in copper coil
Steam rises from the iron soil
Keeper's hand finds familiar weight
Darkness bends to kitchen light
Steam climbs slow, the beam stays bright
Salt and steam through endless night