Awake and alert
Through all the hours of the night
Watching over nothing
But a great big hole
His thick old overcoat
Is buttoned up real tight
A brazier burns brightly
As he feeds it coke and coal
In a little hut he whiles away
The nighttime hours
Though it is cold outside
He is toasty warm
Longing for springtime's
Short light showers
Caring not for the turbulence
Of a violent wintry storm
Transported in time and space
To warmer climes
Though ever vigilant
He allows his mind to drift away
Attentively counting each strike
As a church bell chimes
Mentally ticking off the hours
To a bright new day