I rest in velvet pine and steel
While cycles spin with mechanical heel
Each footfall shakes my dormant strings
The pavement hums what the night brings
Steam rises where the dryers breathe
Glass fogs a map the storm can't leave
I count the steps in quarter time
A hymn half-remembered not quite rhyme
Wood and water bone and wire
Singing silent in the choir
Counting footsteps one by one
Until the spinning drums are done
Once I soared in vaulted arches high
Now laundromat light paints the sky
Soprano breath in cedar grain
Waits for fingers waits for rain
Steam rises where the dryers breathe
Glass fogs a map the storm can't leave
I count the steps in quarter time
A hymn half-remembered not quite rhyme
Wood and water bone and wire
Singing silent in the choir
Counting footsteps one by one
Until the spinning drums are done
A woman pauses keys in hand
Her wet coat heavy on the stand
She hears the machines not my wood's cry
Just another night passing by
If I could vibrate bridge the gap
Release the chorale in my map
But varnish seals what fingers knew
So I count steps and wait for you
Wood and water bone and wire
Singing silent in the choir
Counting footsteps one by one
Until the spinning drums are done
Gray dawn bleaches the window pane
The rain relents a thin refrain
Last customer folds a towel dry
My strings relax the night says goodbye
Wood and water bone and wire
Singing silent in the choir
Counting footsteps one by one
Until the spinning drums are done
Case clicks shut on quiet song
Wood and water drifting on