the river was central
each branch arterial
pulling land along with it
in form of pebbles, sand, agglomerate
to accumulate
thus how beaches are made
and people are made to lie down upon them
river pulling the land along with it
pulling us along with it
as we are grass in the wind
so we are rolls of hay
wrapped in disintegrating plastic
shedding rain and the sun
in rolls or hills
subject to pitchforks
people come over the hills
with hay to feed cows and other livestock
sheep, goats and pigs
chickens
cats, dogs
snakes, foxes
marmots, groundhogs
weasels, polecats
white-footed mice
deer
kestrels and hawks
hawks fight in the air
freewheeling territorial encasings
flights over areas, mapped out with fierce eye movements
first takeoff after the wildlife refuge or rehabilitation
after the loving imprinting
after the puppet held in front of human face
after nesting in wire and felt
after the leaf trimmings and grass cuttings
the piles of which
were once us
the air is so fragrant afterward
the scent of mowing lingers for hours and miles
the sound of the mower, so peaceful over the hills
down to the river, the dust of the mower
tractors moving over the face of the land
then bulldozers and cranes, trucks
the dump trucks
dump trucks moving over the hills
the dumb fucks
in clouds of dumb fucks
clouds of dump trucks and emissions
all the emissions, all the equations
all the heaviness of the air, tonight
is the rain moving in
is the humidity 100 percent and increasing
are the winds over 100 miles per hour
are the shutters closed
are the bathtubs filled
is the gin and beer and wine bought
is the refrigerator plugged into the toaster
are the flashlights made of tin and wire
does the water really smell that way
is the water turning into fire
is water rainbowed today
is the water up to our necks today
is the hairdryer in the tub
is the axe in the attic
are the seatbelts on
what is that beeping
are we doing a job, a heckuva one
whose job
what job
working it out
working it over
working us over
working you over
turning the sod over, turning that sod over
and under sod more skeletons
a construction of skeletons so many
as to make a catacomb
beneath the ground, supporting the city
the city we have become
just like that, like that