The pavement cracks beneath the winter freeze The river carries oil to the seas We used to build the motors in the yard Now every single window pane is scarred There is a silence hanging on the crane Watching the corrosion in the rain Asphalt Crumbled into gravel in the street And rust Settling like a powder on our feet They packed up all the copper and the gold And left us with the stories that we told Walking through the ashes and the dust Nothing left but asphalt and rust The skeletal remains of open beams A graveyard of our manufacturing dreams I stand upon the corner where we met And watch the afternoon sun start to set The neighborhood is quiet as a stone Everybody surviving on their own Asphalt Crumbled into gravel in the street And rust Settling like a powder on our feet They packed up all the copper and the gold And left us with the stories that we told Walking through the ashes and the dust Nothing left but asphalt and rust You can map the ruin by the blocks Listen to the ticking of the clocks The engine block is sinking in the clay But we are the ones who have to stay We have to stay Asphalt Crumbled into gravel in the street And rust Settling like a powder on our feet They packed up all the copper and the gold And left us with the stories that we told Walking through the ashes and the dust Nothing left but asphalt and rust Just the ashes. Just the dust. © 2026 The Shady River Bard. All rights reserved.
