Iron stairs sigh under weight
Summer dusk settles late
Flour dust coats the sill
Night baker works the mill
Flour and salt in the bowl
Humming low a steady scroll
Dough climbs the bowl's white rim
Night baker hums his hymn
Lamp wick trimmed I watch the street
Salt air carries bread and heat
Yeast blooms in the warming bowl
Music rises from his soul
Flour and salt in the bowl
Humming low a steady scroll
Dough climbs the bowl's white rim
Night baker hums his hymn
Fire escape shakes with each fold
Stories kneaded brave and bold
Crust cracks gold in oven's breath
Feeds the dark and feeds the depth
Flour and salt in the bowl
Humming low a steady scroll
Dough climbs the bowl's white rim
Night baker hums his hymn
No beacon sweeps this harbor night
Just flour dust and amber light
But rhythm holds a steadier line
Than any lens I used to mind
Morning pulls the curtain gray
Baker wipes his hands away
Loaves cool on a wooden shelf
I light the lamp myself
Flour and salt in the bowl
Humming low a steady scroll
Dough climbs the bowl's white rim
Night baker hums his hymn
Flour and salt remain still
Humming on the window sill