Tugboat rests on piazza stone
Iron hull on ancient Rome
Prop blades kiss cold travertine
Morning coffee tastes like brine
Harbor tug in city square
Morning light catches rust there
No sea waves on cobblestone
Tugboat dreams in Rome alone
Radio plays the static news
Night shift ends the morning blues
Cook flips eggs on blackened steel
Wipes the counter clean and real
Harbor tug in city square
Morning light catches rust there
No sea waves on cobblestone
Tugboat dreams in Rome alone
Apron soaked in dishwater gray
Another long night shifts to day
Eyes track movement through the glass
Watch the tugboat slowly pass
Why here why now nobody knows
Captain drinks his bitter coffee
Shares a smoke with night cook Joe
Dawn arrives on silent toes
Cafe chairs unpacked from storage
Morning rush begins the carnage
Umbrellas bloom like steel flowers
Daylight stretches early hours
Harbor tug in city square
Morning light catches rust there
No sea waves on cobblestone
Tugboat dreams in Rome alone
Engine coughs to life again
Captain waves to night cook Joe
Propeller churns the morning air
Salt stains left on piazza stone
Harbor tug in city square
Morning light catches rust there
No sea waves on cobblestone
Tugboat dreams in Rome alone
Steel heart beats in stone veins now
Grill stays hot the coffee flows
Another shift another dawn
