Meter reads zero on the night shift clock
Salt wind cuts through the cracked window glass
Tugboat groans beneath the bridge where I park
Iron ribs bite a rusted fire escape
Deckhand curses at the tangled steel
Paint peels slow in the harbor heat
Cables scream where the pulley wheels
Summer dusk bleeds orange on the water sheet
Harbor knot pulls tight at summer dusk
Tugboat dances with the iron lace
No fare tonight can buy this kind of hush
Just rust and rope in a slow embrace
Passenger seat holds a ghost of smoke
Radio plays some forgotten ballad tune
Winch coughs hard where the cable broke
Night shift waits for the morning monsoon
Harbor knot pulls tight at summer dusk
Tugboat dances with the iron lace
No fare tonight can buy this kind of hush
Just rust and rope in a slow embrace
Steam rises slow from the engine room
Deck lights flicker like a dying match
Old hands know how to ride the doom
Every snarl has a place to catch
Horn blows low through the purple air
Tangle loosens, link by link gives way
Taxi wheels kiss the cobblestone square
Another fare for another day
Mirror shows the lines I've earned to keep
Harbor sleeps now, knot undone and free
Meter clicks over while the city sleeps
Best rides are the ones you don't charge a fee
Harbor knot pulls tight at summer dusk
Tugboat dances with the iron lace
No fare tonight can buy this kind of hush
Just rust and rope in a slow embrace
Rope burns fade on a calloused palm
Harbor knot remembered, soft and calm