Camera clicks cold Charles River dawn
Coins clink slow in brass cup palm
Brick path wakes under amber drawn
Toll keeper strikes his copper psalm
Lantern toll burns through October air
Lantern toll cuts fog to bright repair
Each step a flash on historic brick
Each step a frame that makes it stick
Bus ticket stub tucked in worn jeans
Zakim cables hum low steel hymn
Lantern swings where the toll machine
Counts each car on autumn rim
Lantern toll burns through October air
Lantern toll cuts fog to bright repair
Each step a flash on historic brick
Each step a frame that makes it stick
Film wind clicks in my coat pocket
Leaves skitter red on brick bone
Light pools gold where the toll booth locks it
Keeper nods he knows my own
Copper dome reflects the river gray
Shutter snaps the keeper's patient face
No fare asked for the light to stay
Just brick and glow in autumn grace
Negative strips dry on hostel wire
Toll lantern burns in memory frame
Brick path glows past the boundary higher
Keeper's light calls each traveler name
Lantern toll burns through October air
Lantern toll cuts fog to bright repair
Each step a flash on historic brick
Each step a frame that makes it stick
Morning bus rolls past the toll booth glass
Viewfinder frames the keeper's grin
Brick sidewalk holds the autumn mass
Lantern toll pulls me back again
Lantern toll burns through October air
Lantern toll cuts fog to bright repair
Each step a flash on historic brick
Each step a frame that makes it stick
Lantern toll burns through October air
Click wind advance — I'm already there
