Leather rests on cold bench slats
Damp air smells of steel and rats
Keeper's hands would know this feel
Salt and oil on wooden wheel
Platform gloves keep silent watch
Guarding tracks where no light catches
Weathered storms on deeper seas
Now they wait for morning keys
Third rail hums a low hymn tune
Gloves don't flinch at arriving soon
Keeper's log would mark the hour
Salt-stiff fingers hold the power
Platform gloves keep silent watch
Guarding tracks where no light catches
Weathered storms on deeper seas
Now they wait for morning keys
Footsteps fade from closing doors
Gloves don't check the timetable scores
Keeper's lamp burned whale oil bright
These just catch the tunnel light
Platform gloves keep silent watch
Guarding tracks where no light catches
Weathered storms on deeper seas
Now they wait for morning keys
Morning brings the first train's roar
Gloves still waiting on the floor
No logbook entry marks their stay
Just salt and steel and break of day
Commuter boots tap past the pair
Gloves don't move, don't breathe, don't care
Old keeper would understand
Steady watch on shifting sand
Platform gloves keep silent watch
Guarding tracks where no light catches
Weathered storms on deeper seas
Now they wait for morning keys
Platform gloves keep silent watch
Salt wind blows down tunnel walls
Tide turns as the morning calls
