Steam Boat Naches

The steam boat Natchez – poem from a painting.

The absence of light

beneath thickening clouds

barely illuminates the steam boats

as they race beneath an eye in the sky.

The black smog clots under the gaze

of a sun that beams all, while the minions

work the engines swimming in grease

and darkness.

They see nothing but clogs and muggy

clouds that reign above. A tinge of green

pollutes the black as if color has blotted from the gloom

all darkness.

It has left an ocular void that observes

the incessant life that struggles beneath light.