Foundry

“Burmeister & Wain Iron Foundry” by Peter Severin Kroyer

(Originally posted here June 2013)

punch a timeclock in hell
shirtless muscular gleam
throwing dollops of sweat
heaves at blast furnace doors
forged by barons of steel
back when coal-fired trains
carried embryo offspring
in long snaking bellies

steel-toed split-leather boots
kick at barely cooled castings
shaken free from tight
compacted shaping sand cores
jigged to patterns and dies
for earthshattering finish
by four-story forty-ton
cudgels and cutters

overpowering heat browns
skin faster than beach-sun
giant ladles pour molten
cascades of inferno
great blooms sucking oxygen
exertion demands
of the young-dying strongmen
drawing paychecks from hell

 

 

High Meadow

“Deer in High Meadow”
Painting by Walt Curlee
From waltcurleeart.com

spread the word
the high meadow’s in bloom
lift your nose from the grindstone
take leave of the hamster wheel
untie the tethers the plow hitch
strip off the silk necktie
the sensible shoes
lose the apron the work boots
let go of the briefcase
the toolbox the laptop
then take a deep breath and
announce to the boss
in uncompromised voice
that it’s time oh it’s time
at long last that you
go play with summer