Foghorn moans through Golden Gate
Crab pots clatter on the pier
Coffee rings stain corner edges
Salt crystals bloom on worn spine
Trolley wires hum above the mist
Gulls argue over discarded bait
I hold stories the tide can't wash
Stories the wind won't scatter
Salt and ink don't mix but stay
Bound together in this cover
Watching fog eat Alcatraz
Listening to the bay breathe slow
Fisherman's wharf sleeps past midnight
Neon shrimp sign flickers once
Tourist footsteps fade to silence
Locals know the real rhythm
Cable cars climb clay steep streets
Steam rises from manhole covers
I hold stories the tide can't wash
Stories the wind won't scatter
Salt and ink don't mix but stay
Bound together in this cover
Watching fog eat Alcatraz
Listening to the bay breathe slow
Dungeness shells crack at dawn
Butter melts in paper cups
Sourdough bowls steam on wet wood
Seagulls steal fries from paper
Salt and ink don't mix but stay
Bound together in this cover
Watching fog eat Alcatraz
Listening to the bay breathe slow
Coit Tower blinks through marine layer
Ferry Building clock strikes three
Homeless vet folds newspaper blanket
Business suits sprint for last boat
Salt and ink don't mix but stay
Bound together in this cover
Watching fog eat Alcatraz
Listening to the bay breathe slow
My leather cracks like old wharf pilings
Pages yellow like pier pilings
But I'll outlast the condo towers
Outlive the tech bus exhaust
Salt and ink don't mix but stay
Bound together in this cover
Watching fog eat Alcatraz
Listening to the bay breathe slow
Salt and ink don't mix but stay
Bound together in this cover
Watching fog eat Alcatraz
Listening to the bay breathe slow
Foghorn moans through Golden Gate
I turn my own damp pages