Rain hammers tin roof overhead
Coffee steams in chipped mug black as lead
Wireman sits where porch boards creak and groan
Storm don't phase him sitting on his own
Coil of cable rests on splintered rail
Test set clipped to belt worn leather pale
Lightning writes its signature in hail
He don't flinch just watches wires fail
Porch duty in the pouring down
Lineman wears his silent crown
Every pole a prayer he's found
Feet stay planted on the ground
Diner neon flickers through the wet
Grill sings bacon eggs on aluminum set
He watches transformers bleed and fret
Night shift solidarity silent bet
Porch duty in the pouring down
Lineman wears his silent crown
Every pole a prayer he's found
Feet stay planted on the ground
Thunder shakes the ceramic on the shelf
He counts the seconds by himself
Wire hums a note of coming health
Power returns like stolen wealth
Dawn bleeds gray across the telephone wire
Insulators glow like ghost-fire
Truck engine coughs starts tired and slow
Another storm survived another hire
Coffee's cold now shift bell rings its end
Wipe the counter down call it a friend
Lineman tips his hat around the bend
Porch duty done the lines mend
Porch duty in the pouring down
Lineman wears his silent crown
Every pole a prayer he's found
Feet stay planted on the ground
Rain stops tapping on the diner tin
Porch duty waits for storms again