Max Reger's music has attracted attention ever since its publication for its unique complexity. Numerous studies have approached the repertory from a (post)-Riemannian point of view, seeing as how he was a student of Riemann's. Other scholars have also emphasized the motivic nature of Reger's harmonic thinking. I argue that the two approaches -- tonal-functional and motivic -- are not mutually exclusive and together provide a fuller picture of Reger's harmonic syntax. Max Reger's Morgen, op. 66/10 is a fascinating case study of the composer's unique harmonic syntax. I examine the song from both tonal-functional and harmonic-motivic perspectives. I argue that Reger's setting contrasts the poem's evocation of linear and circular time by contrasting goal-directed functional progressions with recurring transformational processes that function as motives throughout the song.