Brown tape in a plastic shell
Winter casts a frozen spell
Malus pumila in the white
Waiting for the coming night
Spin the reel and hold the line
Counting rings of ancient pine
Magnetic hum in the cold
Stories that the soil will hold
Iron oxide, worn and thin
Where the winter ghosts begin
Rhodes piano, dusty beat
Ice is crunching under feet
Spin the reel and hold the line
Counting rings of ancient pine
Magnetic hum in the cold
Stories that the soil will hold
Prunus avium sleeps deep
Underneath the heavy heap
Copper wires and rusted gold
Watching as the year grows old
Slow the motor, let it drag
Heavy like a velvet flag
Syllables of loam and clay
Waiting for a warmer day
Root and xylem, dark and wet
Memories the tape won't let
Silver frost on every limb
Dusk is making vision dim
Spin the reel and hold the line
Counting rings of ancient pine
Magnetic hum in the cold
Stories that the soil will hold
Patience is a botanist art
Hearing how the seasons start
Tape is looping in the dark
Waiting for a single spark
Spin the reel and hold the line
Counting rings of ancient pine
Magnetic hum in the cold
Stories that the soil will hold
Slowing down to a stop.
Just the winter drop.