artwork: ralph murre
Dredging
by Richard Purinton
A laden scow slides in
sloppy chop,
Pushed by a red tug.
Its black, smoking stack
Mirrors the propeller’s spin.
Its black, smoking stack
Mirrors the propeller’s spin.
Muck and rock, hard
pan bottom,
Crane swing, one scoop at a time.
Scow to truck, scow to truck, truck to dump site,
Crane swing, one scoop at a time.
Scow to truck, scow to truck, truck to dump site,
Muck trucked to
landfill.
Rolling, snorting
through intersections,
Horns blatting,
diesels braking,
Dopplers released from the far sides of hills.
Dopplers released from the far sides of hills.
Then, engines rumble
idly as the
Slippery spoils slide
and stones scrape
From steel box to the waiting
pit below.
A dirty earth jello.
Now night. Scow light.
The same red tug pushes
An empty scow away,
Engine loafing, not huffing.
The same red tug pushes
An empty scow away,
Engine loafing, not huffing.
Second shift will dig,
dredge, tow,
Truck and dump.
Dig, dredge, tow,
truck and dump.
~ previously published in Poem, Prose & Image (Island Bayou Press)
