I hold the salt in my old skin
Where the morning tide rolls in
Tangled in a wooden chain
Drinking up the silver rain
Orange flakes like autumn leaves
Bending in the coastal breeze
Empty handle, hollow core
Waiting by the open door
I am the rust on the iron blue
Waiting for a hand that's new
Left behind in the early glow
Watching all the ferries go
Cold wind bites the metal rim
Light above the water dim
Someone dropped me in the grit
Now I'm where the currents sit
I am the rust on the iron blue
Waiting for a hand that's new
Left behind in the early glow
Watching all the ferries go
A camera lens catches my face
Frozen in this lonely place
A flash of gold, a sudden spark
Breaking through the heavy dark
I remember garden soil
Before the salt began to boil
Green stems reaching for the heat
Now I feel the ocean beat
Heavy water, heavy sleep
Secrets that the pilings keep
Sunlight hits the copper stain
Washing out the winter pain
I am the rust on the iron blue
Waiting for a hand that's new
Left behind in the early glow
Watching all the ferries go
Just a ghost on the dock.
Iron blue, iron blue.
(Falsetto fade)
Watching them go.
