Rust flakes kiss my steel ribs slow
Salt wind writes what charts don't show
Twenty years on harbor floor
Watching ferries kiss the shore
Crane arms fold like praying hands
Coal dust settles on the sand
Meter's running, tide don't wait
Heavy load and heavy fate
Iron lungs breathe harbor deep
Iron lungs while city sleeps
Salt and steel and stories told
Iron lungs turn dark to gold
Winch cable sings its midnight song
Container stacks stand tall and long
Dolphin cuts the ferry wake
Promises the night won't break
Crane arms fold like praying hands
Coal dust settles on the sand
Meter's running, tide don't wait
Heavy load and heavy fate
Iron lungs breathe harbor deep
Iron lungs while city sleeps
Salt and steel and stories told
Iron lungs turn dark to gold
Bolt heads hold what welds forgot
Peeling paint maps every spot
Deck plates remember heavy tread
Words the manifest never said
Bridge climbs slow on Leslie tone
Brass breathes warm in wood and bone
Two strangers share a silent mile
No meter here, just trust and time
Iron lungs breathe harbor deep
Iron lungs while city sleeps
Salt and steel and stories told
Iron lungs turn dark to gold
Morning paints the sails in flame
Harbor wakes to earn its name
Still I wait on rusted wheels
Carrying what the night conceals
Iron lungs breathe harbor deep
Iron lungs while city sleeps
Salt and steel and stories told
Iron lungs turn dark to gold
One last breath as dawn breaks cold
Iron lungs turn dark to gold
Engine sighs in morning light
Iron lungs breathe through the night