I rode a Vespa basket back in sixty-three
Stamp licked by a girl named Maria
Cornetto crumbs stuck to my corner edge
Now I spin where the piazza sweeps clean
Barista unlocks the green shutter
Steam curls like prayer in cold air
Cobblestones drink the first light slow
Wait for the city to wake
Postcard drift on Roman stone
No address left to call my own
Faded blue ink on yellowed bone
Drift slow till the cafes open
Laundry lines mapped the Trastevere sky
I flew from a balcony clothespin grip
Tourist bought me for fifty lire
Wrote "Wish you were here" in shaky script
Barista unlocks the green shutter
Steam curls like prayer in cold air
Cobblestones drink the first light slow
Wait for the city to wake
Postcard drift on Roman stone
No address left to call my own
Faded blue ink on yellowed bone
Drift slow till the cafes open
Pantheon pigeons use me for shade
Oil stains from a mechanic's thumb
Taxi meter ticks in my fibers still
Every fare a story, every ride a sum
Wind knows the route better than I do
Blows past the Spanish Steps at dawn
No meter running, no passenger due
Just paper and stone carrying on
Postcard drift on Roman stone
No address left to call my own
Faded blue ink on yellowed bone
Drift slow till the cafes open
Espresso steam writes new words now
On tables where I catch the breeze
Maria's granddaughter reads my ghost
Smiles at the price of memories
Postcard drift on Roman stone
No address left to call my own
Faded blue ink on yellowed bone
Drift slow till the cafes open
Drift slow where the wheels have turned
Drift slow where the city learns
One stamp, one story, one stone
Morning claims what night has owned