Tag Archives: work

2023, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, river life, Working Class Literature

in search of a true patron saint for western river boiler men

that poet was right about water everywhere.
the only security is a solid hose made
from the thickest rubber not on tires of a 1957 Ford Fairlane:
this we hold sacred, as is the practice.

any intercessions are called forth with a novena of mud and grease,
and must be offered to one with a thick skin,
a proper sense of humor, and a hotline
straight to whoever is minding the upstairs
during these cruel, raptureless days.

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2023, Autumn, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, psychogeography, river life, the no-scape, Working Class Literature

Autumn 2023, no. 22

all fires are meditative, even forest fires
watching the burners I remember the year
the mountain burned, an Easten Kentucky town
flooded and the world did not end then, either
it’s all water now and fire:
the elements have finally taken me
governed by thermodynamics and pressure
I watch the wind and river traffic
in my dreams I feel the rocking of waves
the whole of this land ship not yet asunder

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2023, Autumn, Ohio River Valley Literature, poetry, river life, the no-scape, Working Class Literature

Autumn 2023, no. 1

a slow thunderstorm morning in bed
we try holding off the day, the river
a little longer like children
faking sleep on Christmas Eve

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