In the passenger car:
The shoe-factory glue applier,
Her lungs dark, her cough strong,
In her mid 40s ….
The lobster-trap hauler,
Her back bent, pain pills many,
In her early 50s ….
The court stenographer, heavy,
Back pain ….
Factory woman tells grandkids of shoes.
the red-brick mills,
Suffocating in heat,
Freezing in cold,
Glue for feet, later ….
Lobster woman tells grandkids of boats.
In the stern, she leans,
The chop, the rock,
The red, orange lobsters, dripping salt drops ….
Stenographer fidgets and wants a bottle of
Hard booze before a vacation break
From probation, time, freedom,
Daily the voices sound in the Midwest coutroom ….
The car rolls on,
Past blurred green,
Dark shadows,
Ocean east,
Marshes west ….
