Iron hull cuts through the breathing mist
Rails sleep beneath the oxidized crown
Quercus roots would know this patient kiss
Taxus shadows guard the sleeping ground
Harbor sentinel holds the line
Harbor sentinel marks the time
Iron heart beats slow beneath the steel
Iron heart knows what the rails conceal
Salix weeps where cargo dreams decay
Fagus timber rots in tidal brown
Quercus knows the price the steel must pay
Mycelium threads through the sleeping town
Harbor sentinel holds the line
Harbor sentinel marks the time
Iron heart beats slow beneath the steel
Iron heart knows what the rails conceal
My diesel heart beats slow and deep
Switches dream of destinations gone
Fenders kiss the pier where secrets sleep
Ballast stones recall the weight of dawn
Harbor sentinel holds the line
Harbor sentinel marks the time
Iron heart beats slow beneath the steel
Iron heart knows what the rails conceal
Barnacles write Latin on my skin
Lichen scripts the sleepers' rusted verse
Fucus spirals washed in brine and tin
Cladonia cups the blessing and the curse
Fog lifts slow as germination
Light touches rail and rivet head
No fanfare marks the vigil's station
Just duty done and night to bed
Morning paints the water gold and gray
Locomotives wake with steam and sound
Another vigil ends the night's long stay
Roots and anchors hold the same deep ground
Harbor sentinel holds the line
Harbor sentinel marks the time
Iron heart beats slow beneath the steel
Iron heart knows what the rails conceal
Harbor sentinel stands beyond
Harbor sentinel carries on
Piano fades like mist on water
Final chord holds in the soil
