Old brick red and cold as slate
Autumn leaves fall heavy weight
Found a map from eighty two
Tangled in a salty dew
Folded lines in the grit and the clay
Paper veins in a Boston gray
Rooted deep where the city lines run
Waiting here for a pale winter sun
Sedge and moss in a narrow crack
Ink is faded, turning black
Like a seed in a stony bed
Reading all the lines they read
Folded lines in the grit and the clay
Paper veins in a Boston gray
Rooted deep where the city lines run
Waiting here for a pale winter sun
Call it Acer or a hardy weed
Every scrap is a different seed
Tied to mortar, tied to lime
Holding on through a frozen time
Folded lines in the grit and the clay
Paper veins in a Boston gray
Rooted deep where the city lines run
Waiting here for a pale winter sun
Lupinus grows in a concrete seam
Waking up from a dormant dream
Pull the fiber from the heavy ground
Listen to the city's humming sound
I will prune the edges of the page
Lock the memory in a golden cage
Soil and cellulose, ink and rust
Turning every transit line to dust
Folded lines in the grit and the clay
Paper veins in a Boston gray
Rooted deep where the city lines run
Waiting here for a pale winter sun
Paper root system.
In the red brick.
Hold on tight.