Gulls scream above the diesel dawn
Nets piled heavy on the lawn
Pencil marks the tide table clean
Salt crust forms where ink has been
I hold the harbor in my spine
Salt wind writes between my lines
Tides turn but I stay bound
The surest witness ever found
Lovers carve initials deep and slow
Rust eats anchors down below
Deals struck wet with whiskey breath
Names fade out but not the depth
I hold the harbor in my spine
Salt wind writes between my lines
Tides turn but I stay bound
The surest witness ever found
Storm logs dated ninety-three
Wave height scratched in lead by me
Lantern oil and lantern smoke
Coast guard called but line was broke
I hold the harbor in my spine
Salt wind writes between my lines
Tides turn but I stay bound
The surest witness ever found
Cover cracked where fingers grip
Edges curled like a sinking ship
Pages soft as worn sailcloth
Holding truths the sea forgot
No voice recalls the morning catch
No bell rings for the midnight watch
But I remember every hand
That wrote the shore on shifting sand
New coat waits in captain's trunk
Fresh pages smell of pine and funk
But I'll stay nailed to this rail
Until the final gale blows hail
I hold the harbor in my spine
Salt wind writes between my lines
Tides turn but I stay bound
The surest witness ever found
Salt wind turns the page again
Brass snap holds the harbor in
