Metro rumbles beneath slate tiles
Hound ignores the tourist profiles
Rain slicks the gargoyle stone faces
He counts pigeons in measured paces
Paris rooftops fold like maps
Guardian rests in chimney traps
No fare to catch no meter runs
Just zinc and sky and morning suns
Baguette crumbs fall from balcony rail
He sniffs the air but keeps his tail
Down by the Seine the barges groan
He claims this terrace as his own
Paris rooftops fold like maps
Guardian rests in chimney traps
No fare to catch no meter runs
Just zinc and sky and morning suns
Once he chased through Ardennes pine
Now he guards this rooftop line
Hunter's nose knows every scent
Bread and wine and cement
Paris rooftops fold like maps
Guardian rests in chimney traps
No fare to catch no meter runs
Just zinc and sky and morning suns
First snow dusts the Haussmann gray
Quiet as a fare they pay
He curls tight on terra cotta
Dreams of hare not café au lait
Meter's off the shift is done
Night watch ends with rising sun
No passenger to drop or find
Just rooftops stretching undefined
Dawn paints Sacré-Cœur in gold
Story that the stones have told
Taxi waits at corner café
Guardian owns the light of day
Paris rooftops fold like maps
Guardian rests in chimney traps
No fare to catch no meter runs
Just zinc and sky and morning suns
Zinc roof guardian owns the light
Old wheels roll into the night
