AND HIGHWAYS POOL

AND HIGHWAYS POOL

And highways pool

on their way from coast to coast in places

they swell, obstructed

by dams set up long ago

on the frontier

before rail and tie gave way

to concrete and asphalt;

they dig deep into the soil

with use

And some so deep and so nearly lakes

the movement almost stops altogether--

places called Chicago, Kansas City

Omaha, Denver

interior coasts really,

centers for culture and commerce

so congested they snag

what should have passed on through

leaving it to stink and buzz

in the broad prairie sun

And in some places

I-80 only spreads into shallows eddying

into burnt-brick lanes where merchants

set up shop

for the coming flow

but were diverted from the building of dams

from the making of money

by the growing of a community places

with soil enough for corn

and children.

And as the trucks part the grain of a continent

without more than a passing glance

en route from coast to coast

to coast

listeners within old houses hear the

midnight whine of

diesel-on-rubber-on-pavement

hear the dark murmur of

fellow voices

who lay down in the

wild interior

just near enough the shoals

to drink safely.