Pinus contorta leans hard west
Wind writes its signature on the rest
Needles drink the brackish air
Lichens map the territory there
Paint peels off the gunwale slow
Rust flowers where the salt winds blow
Cables hum the ferry's pulse
Transformers buzz and convulse
Iron pine and telephone
Rust and resin intertwine
We wait for tides to turn and climb
Holding fast to borrowed time
Cortinarius caps push up
Mushrooms rise where toxins stop
Decomposers break the chain
Heavy metals wash like rain
Iron pine and telephone
Rust and resin intertwine
We wait for tides to turn and climb
Holding fast to borrowed time
Sap rises when the sap falls
Current answers when metal calls
No currency in decay
Only patience finds the way
Shift ends at the midnight bell
Deckhands sleep in berths as well
Hands stained orange, rough as bark
Radio static cuts the dark
Quercus garryana stands guard
Acorns fall on oxidized shard
Seedlings root in rusted hulls
Green life breaks the steel skulls
Iron pine and telephone
Rust and resin intertwine
We wait for tides to turn and climb
Holding fast to borrowed time
Iron pine and telephone
Rust and resin intertwine
We wait for tides to turn and climb
Holding fast to borrowed time
Iron pine and telephone
Rust and resin intertwine
Pine resin on cold steel
Salt wind sings through copper wire