work

each day
i go down
into the mine
and dig for
coal. it's
what i do.
into the shaft,
with pick
and axe, a shovel,
down into
the black
night of day,
out of the blue.
there is no
end to this
mountain, it's
what keeps
me alive,
it's what's
killing me.
at night i
come up for
air, to eat,
to go home and
wash away the
soot of the day.
i sit on the
fronch porch
in silence
as the stars
come out
and wonder to
what end this
will come to,
and when i make
love to you,
with my brittle
hands upon your
soft breasts,
you can feel
that i'm not there.
that i'm still in
the mine, deep
below the earth.
in a place that
seems like nowhere.