Flour coats the wooden table top
Yeast wakes slow in copper pot
Salt crystals catch the bulb's dull glow
Dough rises like a tide I know
Night bakes slow on iron stairs
Heat climbs up where nobody cares
Crust turns gold in quiet dark
Summer dusk leaves its mark
Radio plays a weathered tune
Moths circle close to afternoon
Sweat drips down my forearms bare
Steam curls thick in heavy air
Night bakes slow on iron stairs
Heat climbs up where nobody cares
Crust turns gold in quiet dark
Summer dusk leaves its mark
Timer rings a hollow sound
Loaves turn golden perfectly brown
Peel slides deep with practiced grace
Ash and ember kiss the face
Night bakes slow on iron stairs
Heat climbs up where nobody cares
Crust turns gold in quiet dark
Summer dusk leaves its mark
Lantern logic guides my hand
Twenty years on shifting sand
Now I tend a different fire
Same patience same desire
Cooling racks hold heavy rounds
Scent drifts down to sleeping town
Knife cuts clean through crackling skin
Day begins where night begins
Night bakes slow on iron stairs
Heat climbs up where nobody cares
Crust turns gold in quiet dark
Summer dusk leaves its mark
Flour and salt in calloused palm
Keeps the rhythm keeps the calm
Oven cools dawn climbs the rungs
Another batch another song