39. When the hammer sleeps (Metal)

Night falls low Candles fade The workshop breathes When man is gone A shoemaker sits at his bench Hands worn thin by time Leather cut, but hope runs dry No silver, no more shine He lays the pieces on the table Cuts clean, straight and slow Blows the candle, shuts the door Leaves the rest he doesn’t know The floor remembers every step The walls still hum and hear When silence takes the human hands The others draw near When the hammer sleeps We are awake Small hands carry What hearts can’t take No name, no praise No light, no sound We mend the world While no one’s around Tiny feet on wooden boards Naked skin, no cloth, no shoe Laughing low, they take their place They know exactly what to do Needle pulls, the leather bends Hammer taps in perfect time What was broken by the day The night will realign When the hammer sleeps We are awake From thread and skin A future takes shape No crown, no gold No written sound We mend the world While no one’s around TAP TAP BREATHE WORK IN SHADOW NO REWARD ONLY FORM Morning breaks, the man returns Sees shoes where none should be Perfect lines, a miracle Staring back silently Coins return, the table fills Work comes back with light But questions grow inside the room Who works here every night? She watches once She sees them clear Small bodies cold But full of cheer “No coat,” she says “No shoes,” she sighs So she sews love In human size Clothes laid out by candle flame Folded soft and new Shirts and pants and tiny shoes Made honest, warm and true They come again, they stop, they stare Joy breaks out like song They dress, they dance, they laugh out loud Then vanish before dawn When the hammer sleeps We fade away Kindness finished Our work today Remember this When help is found Some hands fix things Without a sound The shop is still The night moves on What’s good stays built Though they are gone